• Question: In 100 years time, how long will the average human life span be?

    Asked by A Double- Alexis&Alfie to Craig, Marta, Natalie, Nicholas on 15 Mar 2017.
    • Photo: Marta Varela

      Marta Varela answered on 15 Mar 2017:

      Hello again A Double-Alexis& Alfie.

      Good question. It is hard to predict, I think. Right now, it seems like the human body cannot really live beyond 120 years. What is that limit set by? Will you be able to do something to overcome it?

      Right now, I think our best bet to improve the lives of humans is to try to find ways of treating diseases people have earlier on, like cancer or heart disease. That will surely bring overall life expectancy up. What the upper limit on it is, I don’t really know. Maybe one of you would like to become a scientist and work this out?

    • Photo: Natalie Doig

      Natalie Doig answered on 15 Mar 2017:

      The prediction is that in 100 years the life expectancy will be getting towards 100. However, this is dependent on many different factors, we do not know how medical advances will change this, recent research may greatly increase our life expectancies. Also, life expectancy is, and probably still will be, different in the developing vs. the developed world. However, life expectancy may not increase so rapidly; there may be new diseases or epidemics (recent ebola outbreak for example), also antibiotics are becoming less effective due to drug resistant bacteria and unless we develop new therapies that could drastically decrease life expectancy.

Comments