Could you live to 150?
An international team of researchers has developed a new way to track the biological ageing process – and the results suggest that humans can live to a maximum of 150 years old.
There are at least nine markers of ageing, but a common one is when our cells slowly lose the ability to produce new and healthy cells to repair damage. It is marked by a decline in physical functionality and an increased risk of chronic disease.
Researchers distinguish between chronological age, which is exactly how many years a person has been alive, and biological age, which is how old a person seems at a cellular level – that is, how close their cells are to completely ceasing all function. These two numbers are not always the same for any given person, nor is biological age always linear.
Since biological age is influenced by a range of factors such as diet, exercise, sleeping habits, genetics and more, it’s difficult to calculate – but researchers are interested in measuring it in order to develop effective anti-ageing interventions.
