A HANDFUL of people could reach the age of 140 before this century is over, scientists say.
Some of those born in the 1950s are on course to keep going after living with years of modern medicine.
ReutersThe current age record is held by Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 aged 122[/caption]
Better public health and a safer world could also help see the record broken often in the decades ahead.
Experts say living past 120 may become the norm, with the limit of our lifespan “still far away”.
They arrived at their conclusion by studying data from 19 rich countries, including the UK.
Dr David McCarthy said people born from 1900 to 1950 were already “experiencing unprecedented death postponement”.
He said: “Our results show significant potential for records to be broken . . . multiple times” as humans did not seem to be “reaching an age ceiling”.
The expert said that records indicate women in Japan could even make it to 145.
Dr McCarthy, of the University of Georgia in the US, went on: “If there is a maximum limit to the human lifespan, we are not yet approaching it.”
The number of people topping the century in England and Wales is already rising rapidly.
There are now more than 15,000 centenarians — double the figure for 2002.
The current age record is held by Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 aged 122.
The oldest known living person in the world is Spaniard Maria Branyas Morera who is 116.
She will have to live into late 2029 to set a new world record.
Maria credits family and friends, luck, keeping positive and “staying away from toxic people” for her long life.