Reflections on longevity have usually gone beyond acknowledging the basic shortness of human life and have included thinking about 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. There are many difficulties in authenticating the longest human lifespan ever, due to inaccurate birth statistics; though fiction, legend, and mythology have proposed or claimed vastly longer lifespans in the past or future and longevity myths frequently allege them to exist in the present. Hyperborei in Greek cartography and history is the land beyond the Boreal wind. The Greeks thought that Boreas, the god of the north wind, lived in Thrace, and therefore Hyperborei was an unspecified nation in the northern parts of Europe and Asia. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... For other uses, see Utopia (disambiguation). ... Longevity myths are claims to extreme longevity that are of dubious reliability, or even subsequently disproven. ...

The word 'longevity' is sometimes used as a synonym for "life expectancy" in demography. However, this is not the most popular or accepted definition.^[1] For the general public as well as writers, the word generally connotes 'long life', especially when it concerns someone or something lasting longer than expected (an 'ancient tree', for example). This article is about the measure of remaining life. ... Map of countries by population Population growth showing projections for later this century Demography is the statistical study of all populations. ...

History

Longevity according to the psalms of the bible was estimated on average to be "three score and ten", that is 70 years. In addition, Solon, the famous lawgiver of Ancient Greece, in his dialogue with Croesus stated 70 as the allotted length of life for man. These figures are of course much higher than we expect because they lived in epochs without modern facilities of hygiene etc.. However, life expectancy is measured by science today as the expected life span of a new born baby whereas the ancient sources referred to the life expectancy of an adult who had already run the gauntlet of infant mortality. For other uses, see Solon (disambiguation). ...

There are many organizations dedicated to exploring the causes behind aging, ways to prevent aging, and ways to reverse aging. Despite the fact that it is human nature not to wish to surrender to old age and death, a few organizations are against antiaging, because they believe it sacrifices the best interests of the new generation, that it is unnatural, or unethical. Others are dedicated towards it, seeing it as a form of transhumanism and the pursuit of immortality. Even among those who do not wish for eternal life, longevity may be desired to experience more of life, or to provide a greater contribution to humanity. Posthuman Future, an illustration by Michael Gibbs for The Chronicle of Higher Educations look at how biotechnology will change the human experience, has become one of the secular icons representing transhumanism. ... The Fountain of Eternal Life in Cleveland, Ohio Immortality (or eternal life) is the concept of living in physical or spiritual form for an infinite length of time, or in a state of timelessness. ...

A remarkable statement mentioned by Diogenes Laertius (c. 250) is the earliest (or at least one of the earliest) references about plausible centenarian longevity given by a scientist. The astronomer Hipparchus of Nicea (c.185—c.120 B.C.), who, according to the doxographer, assured that the philosopher Democritus of Abdera (c.470/460—c.370/360 B.C.) lived 109 years. All other account given by the ancients about the age of Democritus, appears to, without giving any specific age, agree in the fact that the philosopher lived over 100 years. This is a possibility that turns out to be likely given, not only by the fact that many ancient Greek philosophers are thought to have lived over the age of 90 (e.g.: Xenophanes of Colophon, c.570/565—c.475/470 B.C., Pyrrho of Ellis, c.360—c.270 B.C., Eratosthenes of Cirene c.285—c.190 B.C., etc.), but also because of the difference that the case of Democritus evidences from the case of, for example, Epimenides of Crete (VII, VI centuries B.C.) of whom it is said to have lived 154, 157 or 290 years, like it has been said about countless elders even during the last centuries, as well as in present time. These cases are most likely (or at least in most cases) exaggerations, if not deliberate frauds. Diogenes Laërtius, the biographer of the Greek philosophers, is supposed by some to have received his surname from the town of Laerte in Cilicia, and by others from the Roman family of the Laërtii. ... For the Athenian tyrant, see Hipparchus (son of Pisistratus). ... Hendrick ter Brugghen, Democritus Laughing (1629) Democritus (Greek: Δημόκριτος) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher (born at Abdera in Thrace around 450 BC; died in about 370 BC). ... Xenophanes of Colophon (Greek: Ξενοφάνης, 570 BC-480 BC) was a Greek philosopher, poet, and social and religious critic. ... Pyrrho (c. ... This article is about the Greek scholar of the third century BC. For the ancient Athenian statesman of the fifth century BC, see Eratosthenes (statesman). ... Epimenides of Knossos Epimenides of Knossos (Crete) (Greek: Επιμενίδης) was a semi-mythical 6th century BC Greek seer and philosopher-poet, who is said to have fallen asleep for fifty-seven years in a Cretian cave sacred to Zeus, after which he reportedly awoke with the gift of prophecy. ...

Present life expectancies around the world

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:^[2] Gender symbols: female (left), male (right). ... This article is about the general scientific term. ... A physician visiting the sick in a hospital. ... Hygiene refers to practices associated with ensuring good health and cleanliness. ... The Nutrition Facts table indicates the amounts of nutrients which experts recommend you limit or consume in adequate amounts. ... The term Exercise can refer to: Physical exercise such as running or strength training Exercise (options), the financial term for enacting and terminating a contract Category: ... This graph shows the rate of non-fatal firearm-related crime in the United States from 1993 to 2003. ...

• First World: . . . 77-83 years (eg. Canada: 80.1 years, 2005 est)
• Third World:. . . 35-60 years (eg. Mozambique: 40.3 years, 2005 est)

Population longevities can be seen as increasing due to increases in life expectancies around the world:^{[3][2][citation needed]} The terms First World, Second World, and Third World were used to divide the nations of Earth into three broad categories. ... For the Jamaican reggae band, see Third World (band). ... In actuarial science, a life table (sometimes called a mortality table) is a table of statistics giving information related to: the average probability of survival or death at different ages, remaining life expectancy the proportion of the original birth cohort still alive. ...

• Spain:. . . . . 81.02 years in 2002, 82.31 years in 2005^{[citation needed]}
• Australia: . . 80 years in 2002, 80.39 years in 2005^{[citation needed]}
• Italy:. . . . . . 79.25 years in 2002, 79.68 years in 2005^{[citation needed]}
• France: . . . .79.05 years in 2002, 79.60 years in 2005^{[citation needed]}
• Germany: . . 77.78 years in 2002, 78.65 years in 2005^{[citation needed]}
• UK: . . . . . . 77.99 years in 2002, 78.4 years in 2005^{[citation needed]}
• USA: . . . . . 77.4 years in 2002, 77.7 years in 2005^{[citation needed]}

The current validated longevity records can be found in the list of supercentenarians. Notable individuals include: A supercentenarian (sometimes hyphenated as super-centenarian) is someone who has reached the age of 110 years or more, something achieved by only one in a thousand centenarians (based on European data). ...

• Jeanne Calment (1875-1997, 122 years and 164 days) — the oldest person in history whose age has been verified by modern documentation. This defines the human lifespan, which is set by the oldest documented individual who ever lived.
• Shigechiyo Izumi (1865-1986, 120 years 237 days, disputed) — the oldest male ever recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records; this is widely questioned by scholars, who believe that conflation of dates has occurred and this has compromised the authenticity of Izumi's age.
• Christian Mortensen (1882-1998, 115 years 252 days) — the oldest male widely accepted by scholars.

Jeanne Louise Calment (February 21, 1875 – August 4, 1997) reached the longest confirmed lifespan in history at 122 years and 164 days. ... Lifespan is the maximum number of years a species can survive, defined by the oldest documented age of an individual member. ... Shigechiyo Izumi Tokunoshima, Amami Islands, June 29, 1865? – February 21, 1986) was a Japanese supercentenarian and, according to Guinness World Records, became the person with the greatest authenticated age in the world after the death of Niwa Kawamoto, also from Japan. ... The Guinness Book of Records (or in recent editions Guinness World Records, and in previous US editions Guinness Book of World Records) is a book published annually, containing an internationally recognized collection of superlatives: both in terms of human achievement and the extrema of the natural world. ... In logic, the error of treating two distinct concepts as if they were one. ... Birth record of Christian Mortensen Thomas Peter Thorvald Kristian Ferdinand Mortensen, known as an adult as Christian Mortensen, was born in Skaarup, Denmark, on August 16, 1882 and baptized in Fruering Church that December 26th. ...

Exceptions: Populations from developing world with high life expectancy

In the Anti-Aging Plan, it is reported that besides the Okinawans, people from the mountains of Pakistan the Hunza, the inhabitants from the high mountain valley of Villcabamba in South America and inhabitants in South Georgia have achieved extremely great life spans.^{[4] [5] [6]} The Okinawa diet is a commercially promoted weight-loss diet based on the standard diet of Ryukyu Islanders. ... This page is about the town of Hunza in northern areas of Pakistan. ... South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, also claimed by Argentina. ...

Religion

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Further information: Longevity myths

The Bible contains many accounts of long-lived humans, the oldest being Methuselah living to be 969 years old (Genesis 5:27). Today some maintain that the unusually high longevity of Biblical patriarchs are the result of an error in translation: lunar cycles were mistaken for the solar ones, and that the actual ages being described would have been 12.4 times less (a lunar cycle being 29.5 days). This makes Methuselah's age only 78. This rationalization, however, seems doubtful too since patriarchs such as Mahalalel (Genesis 5:15) and Enoch (Genesis 5:21) were said to have become fathers after 65 "years". If the lunar cycle claim were accepted this would translate to an age of about 5 years and 3 months. Longevity myths are claims to extreme longevity that are of dubious reliability, or even subsequently disproven. ... For other uses, see Bible (disambiguation). ... Methuselah or Metushélach (Hebrew: / Standard  / Tiberian  /  ; Man of the dart, or alternatively when he dies/died, it will be sent/has been sent) is the oldest person whose age is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. ...

One claim of Christian scholars^[who?] is that the life span of humans has changed; that originally man was to have everlasting life, but due to man's sin, God progressively shortened man's life in the "four falls of mankind" — first to less than 1000 years, then to under 500, 200, and eventually 120 years. After those long living people died around the time of the Biblical Flood, God decided that humans would not be permitted to live more than 120 years (Genesis 6:3) However, since later biblical figures (and more recent people) such as Sarah lived for longer than that, 120 years should be considered the "usual" upper limit to man's lifespan. Some individuals can live slightly longer than that. For other uses, see Sin (disambiguation). ... This article is about the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ...

Another theory proposed by a self-described “rational faith apologist”^[who?] is based on the fact that some longevity specialists propose that aging occurs primarily due to telomere shortening during cell replication. Each time a cell replicates itself telomeres lose length until finally, replication cannot occur and the cells die. The theory postulates that prior to the flood there existed a thick cloud cover as described in Genesis. This cover protected DNA from UV and other radiation and their subsequent destructive mutation. Post flood with the cloud cover removed, UV rays and radiation could have caused both DNA and cellular destruction; specifically the type that cause telomere shortening or accelerated telomere shortening. As this mutation was passed on, shorter life spans would result for presumably both human and animals. A telomere is a region of highly repetitive DNA at the end of a linear chromosome that functions as a disposable buffer. ...

It has been hypothesized^[who?] that there is a trade-off between cancerous tumor suppression and tissue repair capacity, and that by lengthening telomeres we might slow aging and in exchange increase vulnerability to cancer (Weinstein and Ciszek, 2002). Experimentation with telomeres on worms has yielded increased worm life spans by about 20% (Joeng et al., 2004). Even if further study shows that telomeres specifically are not tied to aging, the concept that some sort of DNA damage can cause genetically accelerated aging cannot be abandoned, thus providing a rational explanation for longevity and a subsequent reduction of longevity post-flood.

Many cultures like the Sumerians and Indus Valley also document groups of people who have lived for hundreds of years.

Furthermore, starting with reformers John Calvin and Martin Luther, an alternative explanation has arisen: 120 years would not refer to man's lifespan but to the amount of time left before the flood. John Calvin (July 10, 1509 – May 27, 1564) was a French Protestant theologian during the Protestant Reformation and was a central developer of the system of Christian theology called Calvinism or Reformed theology. ... Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 – February 18, 1546) was a German monk,[1] priest, professor, theologian, and church reformer. ...

A more commonly accepted explanation^[who?] is that such stories are longevity myths; age exaggeration tends to be greater in "mythical" periods in many cultures; the early emperors of Japan or China often ruled for more than a century, according to tradition. With the advent of modern accountable record-keeping, age claims fell to realistic levels. Even later in the Bible King David died at 70 years; other kings in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. David and Goliath, by Caravaggio, c. ...

Future

The mainstream view on the future of longevity, such as the US Census Bureau, is that life expectancy in the United States will be in the mid 80s by 2050 (up from 77.85 in 2006) and will top out eventually in the low 90s, barring major scientific advances that can change the rate of human aging itself, as opposed to merely treating the effects of aging as is done today. The Census Bureau also predicted that the United States would have 5.3 million people aged over 100 in 2100.^{[citation needed]}

Recent increases in the rates of lifestyle diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease, may however drastically slow or reverse this trend toward increasing life expectancy in the developed world. Lifestyle diseases (also called diseases of longevity or diseases of civilization) are diseases that appear to increase in frequency as countries become more industrialized and people live longer. ... Diabetes mellitus type 2 or Type 2 Diabetes (formerly called non-insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM), obesity-related diabetes, or adult-onset diabetes) is a metabolic disorder that is primarily characterized by insulin resistance, relative insulin deficiency, and hyperglycemia. ... For other forms of hypertension, see Hypertension (disambiguation). ... Heart disease is an umbrella term for a number of different diseases which affect the heart and as of 2007 it is the leading cause of death in the United States,[1] and England and Wales. ...

Oeppen and Vaupel (see Science:1029, 2002) have observed that since 1840 record life expectancy has risen linearly for men and women, albeit more slowly for men. For women the increase has been almost three months per year. In light of steady increase, without any sign of limitation, the suggestion that life expectancy will top out must be treated with caution. Oeppen and Vaupel observe that experts who assert that "life expectancy is approaching a ceiling ... have repeatedly been proven wrong." It is thought that life expectancy for women has increased more dramatically due to the considerable advances in medicine related to childbirth. For other uses, see Linear (disambiguation). ...

Some argue that molecular nanotechnology will greatly extend human lifespans. If the rate of increase of lifespan can be raised with these technologies to a level of not three months per year, but twelve months per year, we will have achieved effective immortality. This is the goal of radical life extension. Molecular nanotechnology (MNT) is the concept of engineering functional mechanical systems at the molecular scale. ... Biological immortality can be defined as the absence of a sustained increase in rate of mortality as a function of chronological age. ...

Non-human biological longevity

Main article: List of long-living organisms

Living: This is a list of the oldest living organisms. ...

• Methuselah — 4,800-year-old bristlecone pine in the White Mountains of California, the oldest currently living organism known.
• Cheeta — a 76-year-old chimpanzee, the oldest chimpanzee known.

Dead: The Methuselah Grove, in the Inyo National Forest, California, USA. Methuselah (estimated germination 2832 BC) is a Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva) in the White Mountains of California, which was 4,789 years old when sampled in 1957 by Schulman and Harlan. ... Species Pinus aristata Pinus longaeva Pinus balfouriana Gnarled bristlecone pine wood The bristlecone pines are a small group of pine trees (Family Pinaceae, genus Pinus, subsection Balfourianae) that can reach an age far greater than that of any other single living organism known, up to nearly 5,000 years. ... The White Mountains along the east side of the Owens Valley The White Mountains of California are a small mountain range that runs along the eastern side of the upper Owens Valley, just across from the Sierra Nevada. ... Cheeta Cheeta aka Jiggs (probably born in 1932) is a male chimpanzee noted for appearing in numerous movies and television shows, most famously many Hollywood Tarzan films of the 1930s and 1940s, in which he portrayed a fictional chimp of the same name. ...

• A bristlecone pine nicknamed "Prometheus", felled in the Great Basin National Park in Nevada in 1964, found to be about 4900 years old, is the longest-lived single organism known.^[7]
• A quahog clam (Arctica islandica), dredged from off the coast of Iceland in 2007, was found to be from 400 to 410 years old, the oldest animal documented. Other clams of the species have been recorded as living up to 374 years.^[8]
• Tu'i Malila, a radiated tortoise presented to the Tongan royal family by Captain Cook, lived for over 185 years. It is the oldest documented reptile. Adwaitya, an Aldabra Giant Tortoise, may have lived for up to 250 years.
• 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.^[9]
• 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.^{[citation needed]}
• Hanako (Koi Fish) was the longest-lived vertebrate ever recorded at 215 years.

Species Pinus aristata Pinus longaeva Pinus balfouriana Gnarled bristlecone pine wood The bristlecone pines are a small group of pine trees (Family Pinaceae, genus Pinus, subsection Balfourianae) that can reach an age far greater than that of any other single living organism known, up to nearly 5,000 years. ... Great Basin National Park is a United States National Park, located in east-central Nevada near its border with Utah. ... This article is about the U.S. State of Nevada. ... Binomial name Linnaeus, 1767 Arctica islandica, or the ocean quahog or Icelandic cyprine, is a marine bivalve mollusk native to the North Atlantic ocean. ... A photo of the tortoises preserved body, 2003. ... Binomial name Geochelone radiata Shaw, 1802 The Radiated tortoise (Geochelone radiata) is a species in the genus of the geochelone tortoises. ... British explorer James Cook is most noted for having discovered Australia and Hawaii. ... Adwaitya (The Only One) (1750 - March 2006) was an Aldabra Giant Tortoise that is believed to have lived from 1750 to 2006, thus being the longest living animal known to man. ... Binomial name Geochelone gigantea Schweigger, 1812 The Aldabra Giant Tortoise (Geochelone gigantea), from the islands of the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles, is one of the largest tortoises in the world. ... Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758 Bowhead whale range The Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus), also known as Greenland Right Whale or Arctic Whale, is a baleen whale of the right whale family Balaenidae. ... Species See text Lamellibrachia is a genus of the tube worm related to the giant tube worm, Riftia pachyptila. ...

See also

• Actuarial Science
• Biodemography
• Biodemography of human longevity
• Calorie restriction
• List of centenarians
• DNA damage theory of aging
• Engineered negligible senescence
• Hayflick limit
• Indefinite lifespan
• Life extension
• Longevity claims
• Maximum life span
• Mitohormesis
• Oldest viable seed
• Reliability theory of aging and longevity
• Resveratrol
• Senescence (aging)
• SENS (Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence)

2003 US mortality (life) table, Table 1, Page 1 Actuarial science applies mathematical and statistical methods to finance and insurance, particularly to the assessment of risk. ... Biodemography (bio ∙ demography [bio-di-mog-ruh-fee] - noun) is the science dealing with the integration of biology and demography. ... Biodemography of Human Longevity. ... See also Negative calorie diet, very low calorie diet CRON redirects here. ... A centenarian is a person who has attained the age of 100 years or more. ... Engineered negligible senescence refers to an engineered prevention or reversal of cellular aging (referred to as senescence in biology). ... The Hayflick limit was discovered by Leonard Hayflick in 1965. ... Indefinite lifespan is a term used in the life extension movement to refer to the longevity of humans (and other lifeforms) under conditions in which aging can be effectively and completely prevented and treated. ... Life extension refers to an increase in maximum or average lifespan, especially in humans, by slowing down or reversing the processes of aging. ... Longevity claims are claims to extreme longevity (usually 110 or older) that either cannot be verified or for whom only some evidence is available. ... Maximum life span is a measure of the maximum number of years a member of a group has been observed to survive. ... There are several candidates for the oldest viable seed: The oldest carbon-14-dated seed that has grown into a viable plant was a Judean date palm seed about 2,000 years old, recovered from excavations at Herod the Greats palace on Masada in Israel. ... Reliability Theory of Aging and Longevity is a scientific approach aimed to gain theoretical insights into mechanisms of biological aging and species survival patterns by applying a general theory of systems failure, known as reliability theory. ... The cis-isomer of resveratrol Resveratrol is a phytoalexin produced naturally by several plants when under attack by bacteria or fungi. ... In biology, senescence is the combination of processes of deterioration which follow the period of development of an organism. ... For other uses, see Sens (disambiguation). ...

Scientific books on longevity

• Leonid A. Gavrilov & Natalia S. Gavrilova (1991), The Biology of Life Span: A Quantitative Approach. New York: Harwood Academic Publisher, ISBN
• John Robbins' Healthy at 100 garners evidence from many scientific sources to account for the extraordinary longevity of Abkhasians in the Caucasus, Vilcabambans in the Andes, Hunzas in Central Asia, and Okinawans.
• Beyond The 120-Year Diet, by Roy L. Walford, M.D.
• Forever Young: A Cultural History of Longevity from Antiquity to the Present Door Lucian Boia,2004 ISBN 1861891547

References

World Factbook 2004 cover The World Factbook is an annual publication by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States with basic almanac-style information about the various countries of the world. ... World Factbook 2004 cover The World Factbook is an annual publication by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States with basic almanac-style information about the various countries of the world. ...

External links

• American Federation for Aging Research
• Why We Age - A Comprehensive Anti-ageing and Longevity Resource
• Alliance for Aging Research
• New Books on Aging and Longevity Studies
• Longevity and Pensions, Allianz Knowledge Site, February 2008
• American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine
• The Longevity Project
• International Longevity Center
• The Okinawa Centenarian Study
• Longevity and Aging of Animals
• Longevity Science
• Mechanisms of Aging
• Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS)
• The Calorie Restriction Society
• The Secrets of Long Life (National Geographic magazine)
• Longevity event
• International Research Centre for Healthy Ageing & Longevity (IRCHAL)
• See U.S. Life Expectancy Longest Ever[1]on Time.com (a division of Time Magazine)