Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • NATURE INDEX

Could humans live to 150? Why some researchers think we’re on the cusp of a major longevity breakthrough

Other scientists believe extending lifespan might be difficult but are pursuing therapies that aim to make us feel younger for longer.
By
  1. James Mitchell Crow

    1. James Mitchell Crow is a freelance writer, based in Melbourne, Australia.

Will a human ever celebrate a 150th birthday? You bet, says Stephen Austad, a biology of ageing researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Austad is so sure that life expectancy is poised for another rapid rise, he put money down in 2000 that the first person to reach 150 was already alive.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 647, S2-S5 (2025)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-03524-4

This article is part of Nature Index 2025 Ageing, an editorially independent supplement. Advertisers have no influence over the content. For more information about Nature Index, see the homepage.

References

  1. Olshansky, S. J., Carnes, B. A. & Cassel, C. Science 250, 634–640 (1990).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Olshansky, S. J., Willcox, B. J., Demetrius, L. & Beltrán-Sánchez, H. Nature Aging 4, 1635–1642 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Kaeberlein, M., McVey, M. & Guarente, L. Genes Dev. 13, 2570–2580 (1999).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Dellinger, R. W. et al. Hepatology 78, 863–877 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Norheim, K. L. et al. Nature Aging 4, 1772–1781 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Schafer, S. et al. Nature 552, 110–115 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Widjaja, A. A. et al. Nature 632, 157–165 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Ivimey-Cook, E. R., Sultanova, Z. & Maklakov, A. A. Aging Cell 24, e70131 (2025).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Moel, M. et al. Aging 17, 908–936 (2025).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Xie, Y., Choi, T. & Al-Aly, Z. Nature Med. 31, 951–962 (2025).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links