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{{Short description|Longer than typical lifespan, especially of humans}}{{Redirect|Human longevity|the company|Human Longevity}}Image:Comparison of male and female life expectancy -world.svg|thumb|upright 1.3|Comparison of male and female life expectancy at birth for countries and territories as defined by WHO for 2019. The green dotted line corresponds to equal female and male life expectancy. Open the original svg-image in a separate window and hover over a bubble to see more detailed information. The square of the bubbles is proportional to countries population based on estimation of the UN.]]Longevity may refer to especially long-lived members of a population, whereas life expectancy is defined statistically as the average number of years remaining at a given age. For example, a population’s life expectancy at birth is the same as the average age at death for all people born in the same year (in the case of cohorts).Longevity studies may involve putative methods to extend life. Longevity has been a topic not only for the scientific community but also for writers of travel, science fiction, and utopian novels. The legendary fountain of youth appeared in the work of the Ancient Greek historian Herodotus.There are difficulties in authenticating the longest human life span, owing to inaccurate or incomplete birth statistics. Fiction, legend, and folklore have proposed or claimed life spans in the past or future vastly longer than those verified by modern standards, and longevity narratives and unverified longevity claims frequently speak of their existence in the present.A life annuity is a form of longevity insurance.

Life expectancy, as of 2010

(File:Life Expectancy in OECD.svg|thumb|upright 1.3|LEB in OECD countries)Various factors contribute to an individual’s longevity. Significant factors in life expectancy include gender, genetics, access to health care, hygiene, diet and nutrition, exercise, lifestyle, and crime rates. Below is a list of life expectancies in different types of countries:WEB, Life expectancy at birth, The US Central Intelligence Agency, 2010, CIA World Factbook, 12 January 2011,www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/life-expectancy-at-birth/country-comparison, 11 June 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220611180110/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/life-expectancy-at-birth/country-comparison/, live,

• Developed countries: 77–90 years (e.g. Canada: 81.29 years, 2010 est.)
• Developing countries: 32–80 years (e.g. Mozambique: 41.37 years, 2010 est.)

Population longevities are increasing as life expectancies around the world grow:WEB,www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2102.html, Life expectancy at birth, Country Comparison to the World, US Central Intelligence Agency, n.d., CIA World Factbook, 12 Jan 2011,web.archive.org/web/20070613003434/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2102.html, 2007-06-13, The US Central Intelligence Agency, 2002, CIA World Factbook, retrieved 12 January 2011, theodora.com {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210121008www.theodora.com/wfb/2002/index.html |date=2021-02-10 }}

• Australia: 80 years in 2002, 81.72 years in 2010
• France: 79.05 years in 2002, 81.09 years in 2010
• Germany: 77.78 years in 2002, 79.41 years in 2010
• Italy: 79.25 years in 2002, 80.33 years in 2010
• Japan: 81.56 years in 2002, 82.84 years in 2010
• Monaco: 79.12 years in 2002, 79.73 years in 2011
• Spain: 79.06 years in 2002, 81.07 years in 2010
• United Kingdom: 80 years in 2002, 81.73 years in 2010
• United States: 77.4 years in 2002, 78.24 years in 2010

Long-lived individuals

File:Caçarelhos46.jpg|thumb|Elderly couple in PortugalPortugalThe Gerontology Research Group validates current longevity records by modern standards, and maintains a list of supercentenarians; many other unvalidated longevity claims exist. Record-holding individuals include:WEB,www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/keeping-track-oldest-people-world-180951976/, Keeping Track of the Oldest People in the World, Nuwer R, Rachel Nuwer, Smithsonian, en, 2019-01-13, 2018-09-04,web.archive.org/web/20180904052534/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/keeping-track-oldest-people-world-180951976/, live, JOURNAL, Gavrilova NS, Gavrilov LA, Krut’ko VN, Mortality Trajectories at Exceptionally High Ages: A Study of Supercentenarians, Living to 100 Monograph, 2017, 1B, January 2017, 29170764, 5696798, BOOK, Thatcher AR, The growth of high ages in England and Wales, 1635-2106, 2010, 191–201, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 9783642115196, 10.1007/978-3-642-11520-2_11, Supercentenarians, Demographic Research Monographs,

• Eilif Philipsen (21 July 1682 – 20 June 1785, 102 years, 333 days): first person to reach the age of 100 (on 21 July 1782) and whose age could be validated.
• Geert Adriaans Boomgaard (1788–1899, 110 years, 135 days): first person to reach the age of 110 (on September 21, 1898) and whose age could be validated.
• Margaret Ann Neve, (18 May 1792 – 4 April 1903, 110 years, 346 days) the first validated female supercentenarian (on 18 May 1902).
• Jeanne Calment (1875–1997, 122 years, 164 days): the oldest person in history whose age has been verified by modern documentation.{{NoteTag|Disputed. In 2018 it was alleged that Calment actually died in 1934, and her daughter Yvonne then usurped her mother’s identity. See here for details.WEB,www.leafscience.org/valery-novoselov-investigating-jeanne-calments-longevity-record/, Valery Novoselov: Investigating Jeanne Calment’s Longevity Record, Milova E, Life Extension Advocacy Foundation, 4 November 2018, 5 December 2018, 9 February 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200209001150/https://www.leafscience.org/valery-novoselov-investigating-jeanne-calments-longevity-record/, live, }} This defines the modern human life span, which is set by the oldest documented individual who ever lived.
• Sarah Knauss (1880–1999, 119 years, 97 days): the third oldest documented person in modern times and the oldest American.
• Jiroemon Kimura (1897–2013, 116 years, 54 days): the oldest man in history whose age has been verified by modern documentation.
• Kane Tanaka (1903–2022, 119 years, 107 days): the second oldest documented person in modern times and the oldest Japanese.

Major factors

Evidence-based studies indicate that longevity is based on two major factors: genetics and lifestyle.NEWS, Marziali C, 7 December 2010, Reaching Toward the Fountain of Youth,uscnews.usc.edu/health/reaching_toward_the_fountain_of_youth.html, USC Trojan Family Magazine, 7 December 2010,uscnews.usc.edu/health/reaching_toward_the_fountain_of_youth.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20101213203112uscnews.usc.edu/health/reaching_toward_the_fountain_of_youth.html,">web.archive.org/web/20101213203112uscnews.usc.edu/health/reaching_toward_the_fountain_of_youth.html, 13 December 2010,

Genetics

{{Further|Genetics of aging}}Twin studies have estimated that approximately 20-30% of the variation in human lifespan can be related to genetics, with the rest due to individual behaviors and environmental factors which can be modified.JOURNAL, vB Hjelmborg J, Iachine I, Skytthe A, Vaupel JW, McGue M, Koskenvuo M, Kaprio J, Pedersen NL, Christensen K, 6, Genetic influence on human lifespan and longevity, Human Genetics, 119, 3, 312–321, April 2006, 16463022, 10.1007/s00439-006-0144-y, 8470835, Although over 200 gene variants have been associated with longevity according to a US-Belgian-UK research database of human genetic variantsWEB, LongevityMap,genomics.senescence.info/longevity/, 2013-09-23, Human Ageing Genomic Resources, senescence.info by João Pedro de Magalhães, n.d., 2013-09-21,genomics.senescence.info/longevity/," title="web.archive.org/web/20130921223946genomics.senescence.info/longevity/,">web.archive.org/web/20130921223946genomics.senescence.info/longevity/, live, these explain only a small fraction of the heritability.JOURNAL, Budovsky A, Craig T, Wang J, Tacutu R, Csordas A, Lourenço J, Fraifeld VE, de Magalhães JP, 6, LongevityMap: a database of human genetic variants associated with longevity, Trends in Genetics, 29, 10, 559–560, October 2013, 23998809, 10.1016/j.tig.2013.08.003, Lymphoblastoid cell lines established from blood samples of centenarians have significantly higher activity of the DNA repair protein PARP (Poly ADP ribose polymerase) than cell lines from younger (20 to 70 year old) individuals.JOURNAL, Muiras ML, Müller M, Schächter F, Bürkle A, Increased poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity in lymphoblastoid cell lines from centenarians, Journal of Molecular Medicine, 76, 5, 346–354, April 1998, 9587069, 10.1007/s001090050226, 24616650, The lymphocytic cells of centenarians have characteristics typical of cells from young people, both in their capability of priming the mechanism of repair after H2O2 sublethal oxidative DNA damage and in their PARP gene expression.JOURNAL, Chevanne M, Calia C, Zampieri M, Cecchinelli B, Caldini R, Monti D, Bucci L, Franceschi C, Caiafa P, 6, Oxidative DNA damage repair and parp 1 and parp 2 expression in Epstein-Barr virus-immortalized B lymphocyte cells from young subjects, old subjects, and centenarians, Rejuvenation Research, 10, 2, 191–204, June 2007, 17518695, 10.1089/rej.2006.0514, These findings suggest that elevated PARP gene expression contributes to the longevity of centenarians, consistent with the DNA damage theory of aging.Bernstein H, Payne CM, Bernstein C, Garewal H, Dvorak K (2008) Cancer and aging as consequences of un-repaired DNA damage. In: New Research on DNA Damages (Editors: Honoka Kimura and Aoi Suzuki) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025091740www.novapublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=43247|date=2014-10-25}} Nova Science Publishers, Inc., New York, Chapter 1, pp. 1-47. open access, but read only {{ISBN|1604565810}} {{ISBN|978-1604565812}}(File:Healthspan, parental lifespan, and longevity are highly genetically correlated.webp|thumb|upright 1.3|“Healthspan, parental lifespan, and longevity are highly genetically correlated.”)In July 2020 scientists, using public biological data on 1.75 m people with known lifespans overall, identify 10 genomic loci which appear to intrinsically influence healthspan, lifespan, and longevity – of which half have not been reported previously at genome-wide significance and most being associated with cardiovascular disease – and identify haem metabolism as a promising candidate for further research within the field. Their study suggests that high levels of iron in the blood likely reduce, and genes involved in metabolising iron likely increase healthy years of life in humans.NEWS, Blood iron levels could be key to slowing ageing, gene study shows,phys.org/news/2020-07-blood-iron-key-ageing-gene.html, 18 August 2020, phys.org, en, 16 March 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220316201154/https://phys.org/news/2020-07-blood-iron-key-ageing-gene.html, live, JOURNAL, Timmers PR, Wilson JF, Joshi PK, Deelen J, July 2020, Multivariate genomic scan implicates novel loci and haem metabolism in human ageing, Nature Communications, 11, 1, 3570, 2020NatCo..11.3570T, 10.1038/s41467-020-17312-3, 7366647, 32678081, free, (File:CC-BY_icon.svg|50x50px) Text and images are available under a (creativecommons:by/4.0/|Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016050101creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/|date=2017-10-16}}.

Lifestyle

Longevity is a highly plastic trait, and traits that influence its components respond to physical (static) environments and to wide-ranging life-style changes: physical exercise, dietary habits, living conditions, and pharmaceutical as well as nutritional interventions.JOURNAL, Govindaraju D, Atzmon G, Barzilai N, Genetics, lifestyle and longevity: Lessons from centenarians, Applied & Translational Genomics, 4, 23–32, March 2015, 26937346, 4745363, 10.1016/j.atg.2015.01.001, JOURNAL, Passarino G, De Rango F, Montesanto A, Human longevity: Genetics or Lifestyle? It takes two to tango, Immunity & Ageing, 13, 1, 12, 2016-04-05, 27053941, 4822264, 10.1186/s12979-016-0066-z, free, JOURNAL, Dato S, Rose G, Crocco P, Monti D, Garagnani P, Franceschi C, Passarino G, The genetics of human longevity: an intricacy of genes, environment, culture and microbiome, Mechanisms of Ageing and Development, 165, Pt B, 147–155, July 2017, 28390822, 10.1016/j.mad.2017.03.011, 13654470, A 2012 study found that even modest amounts of leisure time physical exercise can extend life expectancy by as much as 4.5 years.JOURNAL, Moore SC, Patel AV, Matthews CE, Berrington de Gonzalez A, Park Y, Katki HA, Linet MS, Weiderpass E, Visvanathan K, Helzlsouer KJ, Thun M, Gapstur SM, Hartge P, Lee IM, 6, Leisure time physical activity of moderate to vigorous intensity and mortality: a large pooled cohort analysis, PLOS Medicine, 9, 11, e1001335, 2012, 23139642, 3491006, 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001335, free,

Diet

As of 2021, there is no clinical evidence that any dietary practice contributes to human longevity.JOURNAL, Lee MB, Hill CM, Bitto A, Kaeberlein M, November 2021, Antiaging diets: Separating fact from fiction, Science, 374, 6570, eabe7365, 10.1126/science.abe7365, 8841109, 34793210,

Biological pathways

Four well-studied biological pathways that are known to regulate aging, and whose modulation has been shown to influence longevity are Insulin/IGF-1, mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), AMP-activating protein kinase (AMPK), and Sirtuin pathways.JOURNAL, Kenyon CJ, The genetics of ageing, Nature, 464, 7288, 504–512, March 2010, 20336132, 10.1038/nature08980, 2781311, 2010Natur.464..504K, JOURNAL, Bareja A, Lee DE, White JP, Maximizing Longevity and Healthspan: Multiple Approaches All Converging on Autophagy, English, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 7, 183, 2019, 31555646, 6742954, 10.3389/fcell.2019.00183, free,

Autophagy

Autophagy plays a pivotal role in healthspan and lifespan extension.JOURNAL, Madeo F, Tavernarakis N, Kroemer G, Can autophagy promote longevity?, Nature Cell Biology, 12, 9, 842–846, September 2010, 20811357, 10.1038/ncb0910-842, 22379286,

Change over time

(File:Life expectancy post-COVID.png|thumb|Post-COVID life expectancy in the US, UK, Netherlands, and Austria)In preindustrial times, deaths at young and middle age were more common than they are today. This is not due to genetics, but because of environmental factors such as disease, accidents, and malnutrition, especially since the former were not generally treatable with pre-20th-century medicine. Deaths from childbirth were common for women, and many children did not live past infancy. In addition, most people who did attain old age were likely to die quickly from the above-mentioned untreatable health problems. Despite this, there are many examples of pre-20th-century individuals attaining lifespans of 85 years or greater, including John Adams, Cato the Elder, Thomas Hobbes, Eric of Pomerania,{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}} Christopher Polhem, and Michelangelo. This was also true for poorer people like peasants or laborers. Genealogists will almost certainly find ancestors living to their 70s, 80s and even 90s several hundred years ago.For example, an 1871 census in the UK (the first of its kind, but personal data from other censuses dates back to 1841 and numerical data back to 1801) found the average male life expectancy as being 44, but if infant mortality is subtracted, males who lived to adulthood averaged 75 years. The present life expectancy in the UK is 77 years for males and 81 for females, while the United States averages 74 for males and 80 for females.Studies have shown that black American males have the shortest lifespans of any group of people in the US, averaging only 69 years (Asian-American females average the longest).JOURNAL, Keaten J, 17 October 2012, Health in America Today,www.measureofamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/AHDP-HEALTH-FACT-SHEET-11.08.10.pdf, Measure of America, 17 October 2012, 3 April 2012,www.measureofamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/AHDP-HEALTH-FACT-SHEET-11.08.10.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20120403222730www.measureofamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/AHDP-HEALTH-FACT-SHEET-11.08.10.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20120403222730www.measureofamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/AHDP-HEALTH-FACT-SHEET-11.08.10.pdf, live, This reflects overall poorer health and greater prevalence of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and cancer among black American men.Women normally outlive men. Theories for this include smaller bodies that place lesser strain on the heart (women have lower rates of cardiovascular disease) and a reduced tendency to engage in physically dangerous activities.JOURNAL, Ginter, E., Simko, V., 2013, Women live longer than men, Bratislavske Lekarske Listy, 114, 2, 45–49, 10.4149/bll_2013_011, 0006-9248, 23331196, free, Conversely, women are more likely to participate in health-promoting activities.JOURNAL, Crimmins, Eileen M., Shim, Hyunju, Zhang, Yuan S., Kim, Jung Ki, January 2019, Differences between Men and Women in Mortality and the Health Dimensions of the Morbidity Process, Clinical Chemistry, 65, 1, 135–145, 10.1373/clinchem.2018.288332, 0009-9147, 6345642, 30478135, The X chromosome also contains more genes related to the immune system, and women tend to mount a stronger immune response to pathogens than men.JOURNAL, Griffith, Derek M., 2020, Men and COVID-19: A Biopsychosocial Approach to Understanding Sex Differences in Mortality and Recommendations for Practice and Policy Interventions,www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2020/20_0247.htm, Preventing Chronic Disease, en-us, 17, E63, 10.5888/pcd17.200247, 32678061, 7380297, 1545-1151, 2022-10-08, 2022-10-08,web.archive.org/web/20221008165319/https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2020/20_0247.htm, live, However, the idea that men have weaker immune systems due to the supposed immuno-suppressive actions of testosterone is unfounded.JOURNAL, Trumble, Benjamin C, Blackwell, Aaron D, Stieglitz, Jonathan, Thompson, Melissa Emery, Suarez, Ivan Maldonado, Kaplan, Hillard, Gurven, Michael, November 2016, Associations between male testosterone and immune function in a pathogenically stressed forager-horticultural population, American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 161, 3, 494–505, 10.1002/ajpa.23054, 0002-9483, 5075254, 27465811, There is debate as to whether the pursuit of longevity is a worthwhile health care goal. Bioethicist Ezekiel Emanuel, who is also one of the architects of ObamaCare, has argued that the pursuit of longevity via the compression of morbidity explanation is a “fantasy” and that longevity past age 75 should not be considered an end in itself.MAGAZINE, Emanuel EJ, Why I hope to die at 75: An argument that society and families - and you - will be better off if nature takes its course swiftly and promptly,www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/09/why-i-hope-to-die-at-75/379329/, The Atlantic, 7 April 2015, This has been challenged by neurosurgeon Miguel Faria, who states that life can be worthwhile in healthy old age, that the compression of morbidity is a real phenomenon, and that longevity should be pursued in association with quality of life.JOURNAL, Faria MA, Bioethics and why I hope to live beyond age 75 attaining wisdom!: A rebuttal to Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel′s 75 age limit., Surgical Neurology International, 2015, 6, 35, Surg Neurol Int 2015;6:35, 10.4103/2152-7806.152733, 25789197, 4360549, free, Faria has discussed how longevity in association with leading healthy lifestyles can lead to the postponement of senescence as well as happiness and wisdom in old age.WEB, Faria MA, Longevity and compression of morbidity from a neuroscience perspective: Do we have a duty to die by a certain age?,surgicalneurologyint.com/surgicalint_articles/longevity-and-compression-of-morbidity-from-a-neuroscience-perspective-do-we-have-a-duty-to-die-by-a-certain-age/, Surg Neurol Int 2015;6:49, 7 April 2015, 27 February 2017,surgicalneurologyint.com/surgicalint_articles/longevity-and-compression-of-morbidity-from-a-neuroscience-perspective-do-we-have-a-duty-to-die-by-a-certain-age/," title="web.archive.org/web/20170227190141surgicalneurologyint.com/surgicalint_articles/longevity-and-compression-of-morbidity-from-a-neuroscience-perspective-do-we-have-a-duty-to-die-by-a-certain-age/,">web.archive.org/web/20170227190141surgicalneurologyint.com/surgicalint_articles/longevity-and-compression-of-morbidity-from-a-neuroscience-perspective-do-we-have-a-duty-to-die-by-a-certain-age/, live,

Naturally limited longevity

Most biological organisms have a naturally limited longevity due to aging, unlike a rare few that are considered biologically immortal.Given that different species of animals and plants have different potentials for longevity, the disrepair accumulation theory of aging tries to explain how the potential for longevity of an organism is sometimes positively correlated to its structural complexity. It suggests that while biological complexity increases individual lifespan, it is counteracted in nature since the survivability of the overall species may be hindered when it results in a prolonged development process, which is an evolutionarily vulnerable state.ARXIV, 0904.0575, q-bio.TO, Wang J, Michelitsch T, Wunderlin A, Mahadeva R, Aging as a consequence of Misrepair –a novel theory of aging, 2009, According to the antagonistic pleiotropy hypothesis, one of the reasons biological immortality is so rare is that certain categories of gene expression that are beneficial in youth become deleterious at an older age.

Myths and claims

Longevity myths are traditions about long-lived people (generally supercentenarians), either as individuals or groups of people, and practices that have been believed to confer longevity, but for which scientific evidence does not support the ages claimed or the reasons for the claims.BOOK,archive.org/details/secretsoflongevi00nima, registration, 101, Secrets of Longevity, Chuan xiong ... has long been a key herb in the longevity tradition of China, prized for its powers to boost the immune system, activate blood circulation, and relieve pain., Ni M, 978-0-8118-4949-4, 2006, Chronicle Books, BOOK,archive.org/details/endtoageingremed00fuld, registration, 27, An End to Ageing: Remedies for Life, Taoist devotion to immortality is important to us for two reasons. The techniques may be of considerable value to our goal of a healthy old age, if we can understand and adapt them. Secondly, the Taoist longevity tradition has brought us many interesting remedies., Fulder S, Stephen Fulder, 978-0-89281-044-4, 1983, Destiny Books, A comparison and contrast of “longevity in antiquity” (such as the Sumerian King List, the genealogies of Genesis, and the Persian Shahnameh) with “longevity in historical times” (common-era cases through twentieth-century news reports) is elaborated in detail in Lucian Boia’s 2004 book Forever Young: A Cultural History of Longevity from Antiquity to the Present and other sources.JOURNAL, Bulletin Mensuel d’Information de l’Institut National d’Études Démographiques: Population & Sociétés, 365, February 2001, Living Beyond the Age of 100, Vallin J, Meslé F, Institut National d’Études Démographiques,www.ined.fr/fichier/t_publication/27/publi_pdf2_pop_and_soc_english_365.pdf,www.ined.fr/fichier/t_publication/27/publi_pdf2_pop_and_soc_english_365.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20120901014957www.ined.fr/fichier/t_publication/27/publi_pdf2_pop_and_soc_english_365.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20120901014957www.ined.fr/fichier/t_publication/27/publi_pdf2_pop_and_soc_english_365.pdf, 1 September 2012, After the death of Juan Ponce de León, Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés wrote in Historia General y Natural de las Indias (1535) that Ponce de León was looking for the waters of Bimini to cure his aging.Fernández de Oviedo, Gonzalo. Historia General y Natural de las Indias, book 16, chapter XI. Traditions that have been believed to confer greater human longevity also include alchemy,BOOK, Daoism and Chinese Culture, Kohn L, 2001, Three Pines Press, 4, 84,books.google.com/books?id=2AURAQAAIAAJ&q=%22longevity+tradition%22, 978-1-931483-00-1, such as that attributed to Nicolas Flamel. In the modern era, the Okinawa diet has some reputation of linkage to exceptionally high ages.BOOK, The Okinawa program: Learn the secrets to healthy longevity, Willcox BJ, Willcox CD, Suzuki M, 3, Longevity claims may be subcategorized into four groups: “In late life, very old people often tend to advance their ages at the rate of about 17 years per decade .... Several celebrated super-centenarians (over 110 years) are believed to have been double lives (father and son, relations with the same names or successive bearers of a title) .... A number of instances have been commercially sponsored, while a fourth category of recent claims are those made for political ends ....“BOOK, Guinness Book of World Records, 1983, 16–19, Guinness Book of World Records, The estimate of 17 years per decade was corroborated by the 1901 and 1911 British censuses. Time magazine considered that, by the Soviet Union, longevity had been elevated to a state-supported “Methuselah cult”.NEWS,www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,908667-1,00.html,www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,908667-1,00.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20071102230936www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,908667-1,00.html,">web.archive.org/web/20071102230936www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,908667-1,00.html, November 2, 2007, No Methuselahs, 1974-08-12, 2009-05-13, Time Magazine, Robert Ripley regularly reported supercentenarian claims in Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, usually citing his own reputation as a fact-checker to claim reliability.BOOK, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! 15th Series, Pocket Books, New York City, September 1969, Ripley Enterprises, Inc., 112, 84, 56, The Old Man of the Sea / Yaupa / a native of Futuna, one of the New Hebrides Islands / regularly worked his own farm at the age of 130 / He died in 1899 of measles — a children’s disease ... Horoz Ali, the last Turkish gatekeeper of Nicosia, Cyprus, lived to the age of 120 ... Francisco Huppazoli (1587–1702) of Casale, Italy, lived 114 years without a day’s illness and had 4 children by his 5th wife — whom he married at the age of 98, Ripley’s Believe It or Not!,

Non-human biological longevity

Longevity in other animals can shed light on the determinants of life expectancy in humans, especially when found in related mammals. However, important contributions to longevity research have been made by research in other species, ranging from yeast to flies to worms. In fact, some closely related species of vertebrates can have dramatically different life expectancies, demonstrating that relatively small genetic changes can have a dramatic impact on aging. For instance, Pacific Ocean rockfishes have widely varying lifespans. The species Sebastes minor lives a mere 11 years while its cousin Sebastes aleutianus can live for more than 2 centuries.JOURNAL, Some of Earth’s longest-lived fish show how to reach extreme ages, Nature, 599, 7885, 351, November 2021, 34773114, 10.1038/d41586-021-03423-4, 2021Natur.599Q.351., 244075878, Similarly, a chameleon, Furcifer labordi, is the current record holder for shortest lifespan among tetrapods, with only 4–5 months to live.JOURNAL, Karsten KB, Andriamandimbiarisoa LN, Fox SF, Raxworthy CJ, A unique life history among tetrapods: an annual chameleon living mostly as an egg, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105, 26, 8980–8984, July 2008, 18591659, 2449350, 10.1073/pnas.0802468105, 2008PNAS..105.8980K, free, By contrast, some of its relatives, such as Furcifer pardalis, have been found to live up to 6 years.JOURNAL, Stark G, Tamar K, Itescu Y, Feldman A, Meiri S, 2018-10-26, Cold and isolated ectotherms: drivers of reptilian longevity, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 125, 4, 730–740, 10.1093/biolinnean/bly153, 0024-4066, There are studies about aging-related characteristics of and aging in long-lived animals like various turtles and plants like Ginkgo biloba trees.JOURNAL, Wang, Li, Cui, Jiawen, Jin, Biao, Zhao, Jianguo, Xu, Huimin, Lu, Zhaogeng, Li, Weixing, Li, Xiaoxia, Li, Linling, Liang, Eryuan, Rao, Xiaolan, Wang, Shufang, Fu, Chunxiang, Cao, Fuliang, Dixon, Richard A., Lin, Jinxing, Multifeature analyses of vascular cambial cells reveal longevity mechanisms in old Ginkgo biloba trees, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 28 January 2020, 117, 4, 2201–2210, 10.1073/pnas.1916548117, 31932448, 6995005, 2020PNAS..117.2201W, en, 0027-8424, free, They have identified potentially causal protective traits and suggest many of the species have “slow or [times of]{{clarify|date=August 2022}} negligible{{clarify|date=August 2022}} senescence” (or aging).NEWS, Some turtles that live longer have a lower chance of dying each year,www.newscientist.com/article/2325563-some-turtles-that-live-longer-have-a-lower-chance-of-dying-each-year/, 18 July 2022, New Scientist, 18 July 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220718221214/https://www.newscientist.com/article/2325563-some-turtles-that-live-longer-have-a-lower-chance-of-dying-each-year/, live, JOURNAL, Reinke, Beth A., Cayuela, Hugo, Janzen, Fredric J., et al., Diverse aging rates in ectothermic tetrapods provide insights for the evolution of aging and longevity, Science, 24 June 2022, 376, 6600, 1459–1466, 10.1126/science.abm0151, 35737773, 2022Sci...376.1459R, 249990458, en, 0036-8075,kar.kent.ac.uk/95536/1/Richard%20Griffiths%20-%20Reinke%20et%20al%202022%20Science.pdf, 5 August 2022, 26 July 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220726123753/https://kar.kent.ac.uk/95536/1/Richard%20Griffiths%20-%20Reinke%20et%20al%202022%20Science.pdf, live, JOURNAL, da Silva, Rita, Conde, Dalia A., Baudisch, Annette, Colchero, Fernando, Slow and negligible senescence among testudines challenges evolutionary theories of senescence, Science, 24 June 2022, 376, 6600, 1466–1470, 10.1126/science.abl7811, 35737795, 2022Sci...376.1466D, 249989852, en, 0036-8075, free, The jellyfish T. dohrnii is biologically immortal and has been studied by comparative genomics.NEWS, Greenwood, Veronique, This Jellyfish Can Live Forever. Its Genes May Tell Us How.,www.nytimes.com/2022/09/06/science/immortal-jellyfish-gene-protein.html, 22 September 2022, The New York Times, 6 September 2022, 21 September 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220921223704/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/06/science/immortal-jellyfish-gene-protein.html, live, JOURNAL, Pascual-Torner, Maria, Carrero, Dido, Pérez-Silva, José G., Álvarez-Puente, Diana, Roiz-Valle, David, Bretones, Gabriel, Rodríguez, David, Maeso, Daniel, Mateo-González, Elena, Español, Yaiza, Mariño, Guillermo, Acuña, José Luis, Quesada, Víctor, López-Otín, Carlos, Comparative genomics of mortal and immortal cnidarians unveils novel keys behind rejuvenation, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 6 September 2022, 119, 36, e2118763119, 10.1073/pnas.2118763119, 36037356, 9459311, 2022PNAS..11918763P, en, 0027-8424, Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are eusocial insects that display dramatic caste-specific differences in longevity. Queen bees live for an average of 1-2 years, compared to workers who live on average 15-38 days in summer and 150-200 days in winter.Remolina SC, Hughes KA. Evolution and mechanisms of long life and high fertility in queen honey bees. Age (Dordr). 2008 Sep;30(2-3):177-85. doi: 10.1007/s11357-008-9061-4. Epub 2008 Jun 22. PMID: 19424867; PMCID: PMC2527632 Worker honey bees with high amounts of flight experience exhibit increased DNA damage in flight muscle, as measured by elevated 8-Oxo-2’-deoxyguanosine, compared to bees with less flight experience.Margotta JW, Roberts SP, Elekonich MM. Effects of flight activity and age on oxidative damage in the honey bee, Apis mellifera. J Exp Biol. 2018 Jul 26;221(Pt 14):jeb183228. doi: 10.1242/jeb.183228. PMID: 29724776 This increased DNA damage is likely due to an imbalance of pro- and anti-oxidants during flight-associated oxidative stress. Flight induced oxidative DNA damage appears to hasten senescence and reduce longevity in A. mellifera.

Examples of long lived plants and animals

Currently living

• A {{Age nts|-3050|8|31}}-year-old member of the species Pinus longaeva: Oldest known currently living non-clonal tree.WEB,www.rmtrr.org/oldlist.htm, Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research, OLDLIST, January 6, 2013, April 12, 2013,www.rmtrr.org/oldlist.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20130412091010www.rmtrr.org/oldlist.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20130412091010www.rmtrr.org/oldlist.htm, live,
• Methuselah: 4,800-year-old bristlecone pine in the White Mountains of California, the second oldest currently living non-clonal tree.

Dead

• The quahog clam (Arctica islandica) is exceptionally long-lived, with a maximum recorded age of 507 years, the longest of any animal.JOURNAL, Munro D, Blier PU, The extreme longevity of Arctica islandica is associated with increased peroxidation resistance in mitochondrial membranes, Aging Cell, 11, 5, 845–855, October 2012, 22708840, 10.1111/j.1474-9726.2012.00847.x, 205634828, free, Other clams of the species have been recorded as living up to 374 years.Bangor University: 400 year old Clam Found {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071030181259www.bangor.ac.uk/news/full.php.en?Id=382 |date=2007-10-30 }}(retrieved 29 October 2007) BBC News: Ming the clam is ‘oldest animal’ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100517093446news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7066389.stm |date=2010-05-17 }} (retrieved 29 October 2007)
• Lamellibrachia luymesi, a deep-sea cold-seep tubeworm, is estimated to reach ages of over 250 years based on a model of its growth rates.JOURNAL, Bergquist DC, Williams FM, Fisher CR, Longevity record for deep-sea invertebrate, Nature, 403, 6769, 499–500, February 2000, 10676948, 10.1038/35000647, 4357091, 2000Natur.403..499B,
• A bowhead whale killed in a hunt was found to be approximately 211 years old (possibly up to 245 years old), the longest-lived mammal known.JOURNAL, Rozell N, February 2001,www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF15/1529.html, Bowhead Whales May Be the World’s Oldest Mammals,www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF15/1529.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20091209053409www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF15/1529.html,">web.archive.org/web/20091209053409www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF15/1529.html, 2009-12-09, Alaska Science Forum, 685–691, Article 1529, 29 October 2007,
• Possibly 250-million year-old bacteria, Bacillus permians, were revived from stasis after being found in sodium chloride crystals in a cavern in New Mexico.250-Million-Year-Old Bacillus permians Halobacteria Revived. October 22, 2000. Bioinformatics Organization. J.W. Bizzaro. weblink {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719162944www.bioinformatics.org/forum/forum.php?forum_id=283|date=2011-07-19}}WEB, 2001-02-15, The Permian Bacterium that Isn’t,mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/6/1143.full,mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/6/1143.full," title="web.archive.org/web/20110214185619mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/6/1143.full,">web.archive.org/web/20110214185619mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/6/1143.full, 2011-02-14, 2010-11-16, Oxford Journals,

Artificial animal longevity extension

Gene editing via CRISPR-Cas9 and other methods has significantly altered lifespans in animals.JOURNAL, Kenyon C, The first long-lived mutants: discovery of the insulin/IGF-1 pathway for ageing, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, 366, 1561, 9–16, January 2011, 21115525, 3001308, 10.1098/rstb.2010.0276, JOURNAL, Ekman FK, Ojala DS, Adil MM, Lopez PA, Schaffer DV, Gaj T, CRISPR-Cas9-Mediated Genome Editing Increases Lifespan and Improves Motor Deficits in a Huntington’s Disease Mouse Model, English, Molecular Therapy: Nucleic Acids, 17, 829–839, September 2019, 31465962, 6717077, 10.1016/j.omtn.2019.07.009, {{Citation| vauthors = Haston S, Pozzi S, Gonzalez-Meljem JM |title=Applications of CRISPR-Cas in Ageing Research|date=2020 |work=Clinical Genetics and Genomics of Aging|pages=213–230| veditors = Gomez-Verjan JC, Rivero-Segura NA |place=Cham|publisher=Springer International Publishing|language=en|doi=10.1007/978-3-030-40955-5_11|isbn=978-3-030-40955-5 |s2cid=218805944 }}

See also

• Actuarial science
• Aging
• Centenarian
• Blue zone
• Genetics of aging
• Life extension
• Longevity claims
• Longevity myths
• Longevity quotient
• Maximum life span
• Senescence

Notes

{{NoteFoot}}

References

Citations

{{Reflist}}

Sources

• BOOK, Boia L, Lucian Boia, 2005, Forever Young: A Cultural History of Longevity from Antiquity to the Present Door, Reaktion Books, 1-86189-154-7,
• BOOK, Carey JR, Judge DS, 2000, Longevity records: Life Spans of Mammals, Birds, Amphibians, reptiles, and Fish., Odense Monographs on Population Aging, 8, Odense University Press, 87-7838-539-3,
• BOOK, Carey JR, 2003, Longevity. The biology and Demography of Life Span., Princeton University Press, 0-691-08848-9,
• JOURNAL, Gavrilova NS, Gavrilov LA, Search for mechanisms of exceptional human longevity, Rejuvenation Research, 13, 2–3, 262–4, 2010, 20370503, 2946054, 10.1089/rej.2009.0968,
• JOURNAL, Gavrilova N, Gavrilov LA, Can exceptional longevity be predicted., Contingencies (Journal of the American Academy of Actuaries), 2008, 82–8,
• JOURNAL, Gavrilova NS, Gavrilov LA, Search for predictors of exceptional human longevity: using computerized genealogies and internet resources for human longevity studies., North American Actuarial Journal, January 2007, 11, 1, 49–67, 10.1080/10920277.2007.10597437, 10996768,
• BOOK, Gavrilov LA, Gavrilova NS, 2006, Reliability Theory of Aging and Longevity., Masoro EJ, Austad SN, Handbook of the Biology of Aging, Sixth, Academic Press, San Diego, CA, 3–42,
• BOOK, Gavrilova NS, Gavrilov LA, 2005, Human longevity and reproduction: An evolutionary perspective., Voland E, Chasiotis A, Schiefenhoevel W, Grandmotherhood - The Evolutionary Significance of the Second Half of Female Life., Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ, 59–80,
• BOOK, Gavrilov LA, Gavrilov NS, Leonid A. Gavrilov, 1991, The Biology of Life Span: A Quantitative Approach, New York, Harwood Academic Publisher,
• BOOK, Robbins J, John Robbins (author), 2007, Healthy at 100, Ballantine Books, 978-0345490117,
• BOOK, Walford R, Roy Walford, 2000, Beyond The 120-Year Diet, New York, Four Walls Eight Windows, 1-56858-157-2,

External links

• Global Agewatch’s country report cards have the most up-to-date, internationally comparable statistics on population ageing and life expectancy from 195 countries.

{{Longevity}}