Following research by scientists, a study may show the maximum age a human being could live to.
Finding the secret to a long life has been a point of intrigue for humans since the dawn of time.
Nobody has quite cracked immortality yet, but the average age has definitely increased over the centuries.
This is largely thanks to modern medicine, better hygiene, and just a better standard of living overall.
But how far can a human being push the limits of aging?
Well, research conducted by scientists from Singapore biotech firm Gero and the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York, may have the answers.
The researchers, who published their findings in 2022, examined the body’s resilience - its capacity to recover from physical damage - as a key determinant of longevity, per the Daily Mail.
By analyzing medical data from hundreds of thousands of volunteers, with assistance from artificial intelligence, they sought to estimate the absolute limits of human lifespan.
Beyond age alone, scientists considered a range of factors, including the impact of illness, lifestyle, and the body’s ability to bounce back from physical setbacks.
Their results indicate that, while the body can repair itself to an impressive degree, these recovery mechanisms wear down by approximately 120 to 150 years.
Although ongoing pharmaceutical developments could theoretically slow aging and extend lifespans to 200 years, scientists caution that such longevity will not become common in the near future.
However, they note that advances in age-related science may lead to more individuals breaking longevity records in the coming centuries.
The study's findings come amid ongoing interest in global life expectancy trends.
Data from the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports that life expectancy at birth for the period between 2020 and 2022 was 78.6 years for males and 82.6 years for females.
In the United States, life expectancy currently stands lower, at around 74.8 years for males and 80.2 years for females, per the CDC.
Historically, the oldest verified human was Jeanne Calment, a French woman who lived to be 122, passing away in 1997.
More recently, Maria Branyas Morera held the title of the world’s oldest living person until her death in August at the age of 117, per the Guardian.
Branyas, who lived through both the 1918 Spanish flu and the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as two world wars, reportedly attributed her longevity to “order, tranquility,” and “staying away from toxic people.”
She might be onto something there.
