The oldest recognized person on record is Jeanne Calment, a Frenchwoman who lived for 122 years and 164 days.<unk>  for humans has remained about 115−120 calendar years throughout recorded history, despite steady improvements in life expectancy. Reduction of infant mortality has accounted for most of this increased average longevity, but since the 1960s mortality rates among those over 80 years has decreased by about 1.5% per year. Advances in medicine, calorie restriction with adequate nutrition, or other interventions are said to have slowed the aging process, but have not been proven to extend the<unk>  human life<unk>  (see below).  This information has led to a hypothesis that the human body may have some sort of automatic "shut-off" switch, and it will get to a point where, no matter how healthy an individual has remained, their bodies simply cannot go on any longer.
The<unk>  of each species is different. These differences demonstrate the role of genetics in determining<unk>  ("rate of aging"). The records are:
for mice, 4;
for dogs, 29;
for cats, 38;
for goldfish, 49
for horses, 62;
for elephants, 78;
for humans, 122.5
The longest-lived vertebrates have been variously described as
tortoises (Galápagos tortoise) (193 years)
whales (Bowhead Whale) (about 210 years)
Non-vertebrate species that continue to grow (i.e. clams, coral) can live hundreds of years, such as:
bivalve mollusks (Icelandic Cyprine) (374 years)
Plants tend to come in annuals, biennials, and perennials. The longer-lived perennials, woody-stemmed plants such as trees and bushes, often live for hundreds and even thousands of years (one may question whether or not they may die of old age). A giant sequoia, General Sherman is alive and well in its second millenary. A Great Basin Bristlecone Pine is almost 5000 years (4844 years), and Prometheus was even older, more than 5000 years.
Although considered fiction for a time, recent research has indicated that bowhead whales recently killed still had harpoons in their bodies from the 1790s, which, along with analysis of amino acids, has indicated a<unk>  so far of 211 years . Birds and squirrels rarely live to their<unk> , usually dying of accidents and disease. Grazing animals show wear-and-tear to their teeth to the point where they can no longer eat, and they die of starvation.
The<unk>  of most species has not been accurately determined because the data collection has been minimal and the number of species studied in captivity (or by monitoring in the wild) has been small.<unk>  is usually longer for species that are larger, can fly and have larger brains. Of the approximately 20,000 to 25,000 genes in the human genome, it is estimated that only 2% of these are different from those of a chimpanzee, which has an average lifespan of 52 years. The difference in longevity could be due to as few as a hundred genes or less, however there may be other factors which influence the life<unk>  of chimpanzees.
Identical twins tend to die within 3 years of each other, whereas fraternal twins tend to die within 6 years. Aging theories associated with DNA include programmed aging (or programmed aging-resistance) and theories that link aging with DNA damage/mutation or DNA repair capability.
Maximum life span
Mean lifetime
Recent changes
Disequilibrium causes
Information addiction
Cognitive reserve
Permanent makeup
Prevalence