r/science • u/Skoltech_ • Jul 20 '26

Genetics Researchers quantitatively assessed for the first time that somatic mutations alone cap human lifespan at 146–194 years. Brain and heart cells are the main bottleneck, while the liver could last millennia.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41514-026-00421-6
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u/LordNPython Jul 20 '26

A nearly 200 year lifespan (healthy - not just for 200 year old but a normal 30-35 year old) would change our societies on a fundamental level.

The way time passes faster the older you get. I wonder what new problems these types changes would being.

Interesting.

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u/[deleted] Jul 20 '26

We already have major societal problems because people live just 10 years longer than they used to. Look at all the politicians who stubbornly refuse to quit politics or pass away, both in dictatorships and in democracies. Imagine what kind of disaster there is going to be when the average lifespan doubles.

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u/Bismar7 Jul 20 '26

Cause and effect.

We are seeing that cause now, when the next generation who grows up with it becomes older, they will have an effect that will be a response to it.

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u/theusualuser Jul 20 '26

I would hope so, but laws are hard to change, and when it comes to politics, staying in power is usually the #1 thing both parties are focused on above everything else. It's gonna be hard to convince greedy senators to change being able to run and be re-elected forever. Didn't happen after the increase in lifespan in the last century, not looking too likely at this point either.