Could dinosaurs be the reason humans can’t live for 200 years? Premium

high mortality of humans reflects numerous other health problems, such as loss of muscle mass and general frailty, cognitive decline, loss of vision and hearing and many other degenerative changes that characterise the human ageing process.

All human beings age. It is part of our biology and limits our lifespan to slightly over 120 years.

Not all animals experience ageing during their lives. Some animals’ bodies do not gradually degenerate as they get older the way our bodies do.

But for humans once they reach about age 30 their chance of dying doubles roughly every eight years. So even if you are fortunate enough to become a centenarian, your chance of dying each year will be high.

This high mortality reflects numerous other health problems, such as loss of muscle mass and general frailty, cognitive decline, loss of vision and hearing and many other degenerative changes that characterise the human ageing process.

And the reason humans age so markedly may be due to the fact our ancestors evolved during the time of the dinosaurs.

Compared to other mammals, humans have a long life. We have the longest lifespan of all land-based mammals, and of all mammals only whales probably outlive us. I say “probably” because you need to keep animals in captivity to do a detailed study on lifespan, which for whales is virtually impossible due to their size and longevity.

We know that species of whales and dolphins exhibit menopause, and all mammals show some form of reproductive decline with age. In fact, all studied mammals show physiological ageing and increased mortality with age, even if some species – like mice and voles – age much faster than others – such as humans, whales, and elephants.