Humans are already living longer than in past generations, according to global statistics.
In the U.S., life expectancy rose to 79 years in 2024, marking an all-time high, according to CDC data, with 2025 lifespan numbers expected to improve further.
This is likely the result of a decline in deaths from COVID, unintentional injuries like drug overdoses, heart disease and cancer, the data suggests.
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If this trend continues, one geneticist predicts that humans could someday live as long as 150 years, based on growing research in biological aging and rejuvenation.
Dr. Steve Horvath, a principal investigator at the Altos Labs Cambridge Institute of Science in the U.K., made the prediction in a feature with Time, although he did not offer a timeline on when it might occur.
"150 is a very fashionable number now," the doctor said. "I have no doubt it will happen. No question."
As a longevity expert and former professor of human genetics and biostatistics at the University of California, Los Angeles, Horvath has devoted his research to understanding age-related biological markers in the body.
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In the early 2010s, he created the first widely used "aging clock," a method for estimating biological age by measuring molecular changes in cells, according to Time. While the clock incorporated saliva data, it proved reliable across multiple tissues, including blood, skin and other organs.
The aging expert later developed other biological aging clocks, including models shown in studies to be strong predictors of mortality risk.
"I felt that it was important to develop [an aging] clock to advance scientific inquiry in the field of longevity," he told Time. "I felt we needed exact measurements of aging before we could really study it, and then hopefully one day find interventions that can reverse aging."
While Horvath said he doesn't think humans will ever live for 1,000 years, as he once hoped as a child, he shared his optimism for "drastic extensions of lifespan" in the future.
"Imagine we have 100 more years of biomedical innovations — what will that do for health?" he asked. "Of course, we would expect major breakthroughs."
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"So, in an abstract sense … if we can avoid wars and pandemics, I think our species at some point will find ways to extend lifespan drastically."
Fox News Digital reached out to Horvath and Altos Labs for comment.
Dr. Eve Henry, chief medical officer at the personalized health platform Hundred Health, told Fox News Digital that Horvath's prediction is "not an impossible take," adding that the research is "very optimistic."
"The research is correct. The first step in this process is to accurately measure biological age and the speed of aging in real time," said the California-based doctor.
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"This will allow us to test interventions for improved longevity quickly, rather than set up aging experiments that would take decades to complete," she went on. "In science, once you can truly measure something, it gives you new power to study it."
However, achieving longevity to the degree that Horvath suggests would require "game-changing intervention that resets a lot of our physiology," according to Henry.
"While I haven’t seen that intervention yet, I’m excited to be alive in an era when this kind of research is possible."
Henry noted that if humans do eventually live 50 to 70 years longer, the risks would largely depend on the quality of life made possible by available interventions.
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"There’s a key difference in living 50 to 70 years longer if independence can be sustained with the longevity tools and care available, compared to the idea of even living 10 years beyond the average life span today, which requires extensive health and community assistance," she said.
"This research is certainly promising, but the reality is that only time can tell what the future of human lifespan could really look like."
from Health News Today on Fox News https://ift.tt/jyDBfXh
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