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Why Gilgamesh failed: the mechanistic basis of the limits to human lifespan

Nature Aging volume 2, pages 878–884 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

The purpose of this Perspective is to clarify for an interdisciplinary audience the fundamental concepts of human longevity and provide evidence for a limit to human lifespan. This observed limit is placed into a broader framework by showing how it has arisen through the process of evolution and by enumerating the molecular mechanisms that may enforce it. Finally, we look toward potential future developments and the prospects for possibly circumventing the current limit.

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Fig. 1: Two examples of the generalized extreme value function.
Fig. 2: Possible mortality trajectories.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grants to J.V. We thank N. Barzilai and Y. Suh for critically reading the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IQVIA, Plymouth Meeting, PA, USA

    Brandon Milholland

  2. Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York City, NY, USA

    Jan Vijg

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  1. Brandon Milholland
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  2. Jan Vijg
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B.M. analyzed data and B.M. and J.V. jointly wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Brandon Milholland or Jan Vijg.

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J.V. is cofounder of SingulOmics. B.M. declares no competing interests.

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Nature Aging thanks S. Jay Olshansky, Joop De Beer and Elsa Logarinho for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Milholland, B., Vijg, J. Why Gilgamesh failed: the mechanistic basis of the limits to human lifespan. Nat Aging 2, 878–884 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-022-00291-z

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