Although humans believe that we control our lives and that we have a certain capacity to prolong the time we inhabit the Earth, genetic programming sets limits that are difficult to exceed. Reaching 100 years is unusual and surpassing it almost impossible. Still, it is much longer than the equivalent five years for a mouse or 20 for a dog. Why do some animals live much longer than others? What happens when we get older? Is it possible to avoid it? These questions are behind the work of a large international consortium that today publishes its results in journals Science and Nature Aging and that, in part, aims to help overcome some apparently immutable limits.
