Amazing Feats by Humans

-The record holder for human longevity is Jeanne Calment of France, who died in 1997 at the age of 122 years.

-As people live longer, the number of older people is increasing. In 1800 only two out of 100 people were over 65. By 2000 two out of 100 people were over 85! By the year 2040 it is projected that one in five people will be over 65 and one in 25 over 85.

-In the hunter-gatherer culture of the East African Hadza people, hardworking grandmothers spend up to seven hours a day gathering food for their families. They may contribute more to the food supply than male hunters.

-We lose muscle mass and gain fat as we age, but this trend is reversible with exercise. Even a long inactive 90-year-old woman can build muscle and gain strength with strength training. (But it is quicker and easier to start sooner!)

-Nerve cells in the human brain and muscle cells in the heart have the capacity to last more than 100 years.

-When not affected by disease, the heart of an older person pumps about as efficiently as that of a healthy young adult. Some individuals at 80 have the functioning heart of a 40 year old!

-Humans have three times more vocabulary at age 45 than at age 20. The human brain has four times the information at age 60 than it does at age 20.

Amazing Feats by Animals

-Tortoises living on the Galapagos Islands today may have been alive when Charles Darwin visited the islands as a young man in 1835. A giant tortoise captured in 1768 on the island of Mauritius thrived for 150 more years until its untimely death from a fall in 1918.

-Bowhead whales have been estimated to live more than 200 years. This amazing life span is supported by historical evidence. A bowhead killed in 1993 carried two stone harpoon points in its side, tools last used in the late 1800s.

-The record life span for a common raven is 69 years. Flying animals have unusually long lives for their size.

-The common black ant queen has the longest recorded life span for an insect. One queen was kept in an ant farm for 28 ¾ years!

-A rougheye rockfish caught off the Alaskan coast was estimated to be 205 years old.

-Minor hearing loss is a normal part of human aging. Bats, however, show no hearing loss as they age. Bats detect their prey with sonar signals and need excellent hearing to survive.

-Researchers have extended the C. elegans roundworm’s normal two-week life span to six times longer by altering its genes and removing its reproductive system. This is equivalent to about a 500-year life span in humans.

-Mongooses care for each other’s young as well as their elderly members. The pack looks after its elders by grooming them, offering them food, and warning them of danger.

-The elephant family groups led by matriarchs 55 years old or older produce more calves than those with younger leaders. Researchers found that older leaders were better at recognizing threats, while younger leaders had a harder time telling friend from foe.

-Smaller breeds of domesticated animals tend to have longer life spans than larger breeds. In dogs, the Chihuahua has the longest normal life span, ranging from 11 to 18 years.

Amazing Feats of Aging was created and is toured by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. The exhibit was funded by a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The exhibit’s national tour is sponsored by MetLife Foundation.