Devin Katayama

He became so obsessed with figuring out how older people felt as they approached death that he would literally chase the elderly down.

This is Carol Haber. She's a professor and Dean Emerita of Tulane University in the School of Liberal Arts.

This is Carol Haber. She's a professor and Dean Emerita of Tulane University in the School of Liberal Arts.

This is Carol Haber. She's a professor and Dean Emerita of Tulane University in the School of Liberal Arts.

Carol says she doesn't think there was ever a time when old age was seen as something wonderful, that everyone respected. But around the time Metchnikoff turned his attention to aging, there was a cultural shift happening in how people viewed it.

Carol says she doesn't think there was ever a time when old age was seen as something wonderful, that everyone respected. But around the time Metchnikoff turned his attention to aging, there was a cultural shift happening in how people viewed it.

Carol says she doesn't think there was ever a time when old age was seen as something wonderful, that everyone respected. But around the time Metchnikoff turned his attention to aging, there was a cultural shift happening in how people viewed it.

At that time, the Industrial Revolution was changing how families lived and worked. And in this work revolution, the elderly were getting left behind.

At that time, the Industrial Revolution was changing how families lived and worked. And in this work revolution, the elderly were getting left behind.

At that time, the Industrial Revolution was changing how families lived and worked. And in this work revolution, the elderly were getting left behind.

Western society's view, whether it was true or not, was that the elderly weren't compatible with the increasingly fast-paced world. Caring for the elderly came to be seen as a burden. Many elderly people ended up living the rest of their days in a hospital. And that's exactly where Metchnikoff went to find them.

Western society's view, whether it was true or not, was that the elderly weren't compatible with the increasingly fast-paced world. Caring for the elderly came to be seen as a burden. Many elderly people ended up living the rest of their days in a hospital. And that's exactly where Metchnikoff went to find them.

Western society's view, whether it was true or not, was that the elderly weren't compatible with the increasingly fast-paced world. Caring for the elderly came to be seen as a burden. Many elderly people ended up living the rest of their days in a hospital. And that's exactly where Metchnikoff went to find them.

La Sapetrière was an infamous hospital in Paris. It had long doubled as a psychiatric ward and a home for the elderly.

La Sapetrière was an infamous hospital in Paris. It had long doubled as a psychiatric ward and a home for the elderly.

La Sapetrière was an infamous hospital in Paris. It had long doubled as a psychiatric ward and a home for the elderly.

For a lot of Parisians, it was a dark, distant presence looming over the city. Inside its imposing brick walls was a massive, sprawling complex that for centuries had been a place of squalor and suffering. A famous French neurologist referred to it as Le Versailles de la Douleur. The Versailles of Pain.

For a lot of Parisians, it was a dark, distant presence looming over the city. Inside its imposing brick walls was a massive, sprawling complex that for centuries had been a place of squalor and suffering. A famous French neurologist referred to it as Le Versailles de la Douleur. The Versailles of Pain.

For a lot of Parisians, it was a dark, distant presence looming over the city. Inside its imposing brick walls was a massive, sprawling complex that for centuries had been a place of squalor and suffering. A famous French neurologist referred to it as Le Versailles de la Douleur. The Versailles of Pain.

But it was the perfect laboratory for Medzhnikov.