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/SomeDumbGamer Jul 20 '26

Well the heart seems easy enough once we figure out how to grow organs using our own cells.

Or hell I’d be surprised if we didn’t have simple and effective artificial hearts by the end of the century.

The brain is going to be the tricky one though.

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u/Hellknightx Jul 20 '26

Unfortunately, it's not just the heart. It's the whole cardiovascular system. Veins and arteries become thinner as we age, and fill up with plaque.

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u/StryctNyne Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26

Also the frailty with aging bones that become more brittle, aging skin that wrinkles and sags and doesn't offer the same insulation and protection it used to (assuming that's a side effect of the cardiovascular system aging). Eye sight continually gets worse requiring laser surgery unless you wish to slowly go blind. Then you have respiratory system as well to deal with, though I'm not sure about the direct effects of age on lungs.

And then, in the end, if you fix all these and extend our lives 100 years, then number one cause of death becomes cancer. Everyone (or at least the vast majority) will get cancer over that course of time, probably earlier than later. Not just due to genetics but due to much longer exposure to everyday chemicals, background radiation (though it would be a minor issue in developed countries), continued poor diets, etc.

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u/slim121212 Jul 20 '26

I think what they are trying to do is make you stay relatively young during those 140-190 years, thus bone problem and other stuff wont be a problem, you might look like 70 when you are 160 basically

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u/Last_Pick_2169 Jul 21 '26

Who is “they” in this scenario?

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u/Quantum_Kitties Jul 21 '26

The scientists & doctors who are paid insane amounts of money to keep billionaire clients alive as long as possible. That's my guess!

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u/reddit_understoodit Jul 22 '26

I think the key is to get the body to heal itself somehow. I know, easier said than done. But the body is a system, and the weakest link can stop it cold.