Science has not yet discovered the maximum time a human being can live on Earth. If we look back, we only know that the oldest person lived for 122 years, but since 1997, Jeanne Calment’s record has never been broken. However, everything could change in 2060, with the generation born before 1950, according to a pair of American researchers.
If the prediction that life expectancy will change significantly in 2060 comes true, this will be a milestone in human history, even though it is not yet known what the age limit of the body belonging to the species will be. A wise man.
Going back to history, it’s unusual to think of humans living over 100 years. For example, the Hebrews of the late Bronze Age (1200 BC) the life span was 80 years. A thousand years later, the ancient Romans understood that a person could live a maximum of 100 or 110 years. Today, we know that the known limit is 122.
What will be the longest-lived generation of humans?
Published in the scientific journal Plos One, the study on the break in the last record for life expectancy was led by researchers David McCarthy, from the University of Georgia, and Po-Lin Wang, from the University of Southern Florida, both located in the United States.
During the research, the duo analyzed historical and current mortality data in 19 developed countries, such as Australia, Canada, France, Japan, Portugal and the USA. In this context, the life expectancy of Brazilians was not considered in the analysis.
According to the authors, “longevity records have slowly increased in recent years.” The curious thing is that the movement is more noticeable in those born between the years 1900 and 1950. The researchers explain that these individuals “are experiencing an unprecedented postponement of mortality, but are still too young to break longevity records”.
On the other hand, the pair of scientists believe that, if the record in human life expectancy is broken in 2060, it will be done by some of these individuals. That’s because, at this point, the survivors will be really old by our standards.
In fact, the authors state: “If there is an upper limit for human life expectancy, we are not approaching it yet”. Now, it’s a matter of waiting to see if the predictions will come true, but there are countless caveats in this promising future.
Breaking new records for human life expectancy is complex
For the scientists, those born before 1950 will only have “the potential to break existing longevity records if policy choices continue to support the health and well-being of older people and the political, environmental and economic environment remains stable”.
These goals must remain, even if the world faces new pandemics or the effects of climate change. After all, the experience with covid-19 revealed that humanity is much more sensitive than it likes to imagine.
Source: Plos One
