The End of the World may be Nigh, so keep thinking – but not about yourself.

Last week, Richard Owens in The Times wrote about the remarkable and beautiful, elegant Italian Nobel-winning neurobiologist and recent centenarian, Rita Levi-Montalcino.

Far from being retired, she is still active in a range of different spheres, including Italian politics, women's rights in Africa and science. 

Although she is not tired of life, she is less than optimistic about the future and warns that using the intuitive (right-hand) side of our brains is not only causing disasters, it is also taking the human race towards extinction.

She says she has "tried to live with serenity, using the rational left-hand side" of her brain, so she attaches little significance to her birthday and feels that there is little merit attached to it. 

"The secret of life is to keep thinking. " she says, "...and to stop thinking about ourselves. That's the only message I have."