Ferris Jabr writes for the New York Times Magazine on the possibility that human beings will have far longer life expectancies than we could ever imagine. For sure, you should not think that living to 105 is an aberration. Twenty-four years ago, one woman residing in the south of France lived until the age of 122!
In 2015, estimates are that 450,000 people lived to be over 100 years old. That’s more than four times the 950,000 people who reached their 100th birthday in 1990. And, projections are that in the next century, 79 years from now, 25 million people will live to 100 or longer.
There are still not a lot of people who live to 110. But, the number is definitely growing. Japan reports 146 in 2015, up from 22 in 2005. Very few people live to 115.
Many scientists believe that human beings will never live much past 115. But, some scientists believe that people’s life expectancy could be a lot longer. We have not begun to reach our limit. According to them, the biological data does not indicate that death is inevitable.
Yes, aging does take a toll on our bodies. Our bones harden and contract, our muscles fall away, our organs do not function as quickly or as fluidly, our immune system loses its ability to protect us. But, could we somehow change our biology to delay the aging of our bodies or even reverse it?
Scientists are finding in studies with mice that aging is reversible, to some extent. Cells can come back to life. This finding leads to the question, if people’s life expectancy could be 105 or 115, is this what we would want? Would it be a burden? Would longer life come with well-being? What would it mean for future generations? Would it keep us from moving forward as societies? How would each of us think about our time on earth after 90 or 100?
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