LONGEVITY TIMELINE
A Brief History of Human Longevity
From early biology to a post-aging future
A guided journey through the major scientific milestones, emerging therapies, and future projections on the path to eradicating age-related decline.
Foundations of Modern Longevity (1900–1950)
Historical baseline
1900–1950
Public health, vaccines & antibiotics
In the first half of the 20th century, life expectancy rises mostly thanks to
clean water, sanitation, vaccination and antibiotics. We extend
life by preventing early death, but we are not yet deliberately repairing aging
itself. Aging remains an assumed, inevitable backdrop.
1950–2000 · Molecular & Genetic Revolution
Scientific groundwork
1953–1990s
DNA, Hayflick limit & longevity genes
The discovery of the DNA double helix, the
Hayflick limit (cells can only divide a finite number of times),
and the first longevity genes in simple organisms transform aging
into a tractable biological puzzle with specific levers we can influence.
Mapping the damage
1990s–2010s
The twelve factors & hallmarks of aging
Researchers identify recurring patterns of damage: genomic instability,
telomere attrition, epigenetic drift, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular
senescence and more. These ideas coalesce into the hallmarks of aging
– a checklist of damage types that we can, in principle, repair.
Explore this stage
2010–2025 · The Rejuvenation Toolkit Emerges
Early interventions
2010s–2020s
Senolytics, epigenetic clocks & NAD+
We see the first senolytic drugs that clear senescent “zombie”
cells in animals, increasingly accurate epigenetic clocks to
measure biological age, and widespread interest in NAD+ boosters,
mTOR modulation and metabolic repair. Aging starts to look measurable and
modulable rather than fixed.
Catching Immortality coverage
Organ replacement
2020–2035 (projected)
3D bioprinting & on-demand organs
3D bioprinting evolves from simple tissues to ever more complex
structures. Transplant waiting lists shrink as lab-grown and printed organs move
from experimental trials into mainstream treatment for liver, kidney and eventually
heart disease, directly addressing organ-level aging.
Explore this future
2025–2040 · AI-Accelerated Longevity
AI co-pilot for health
Late 2020s–2030s (projected)
AI-designed drugs & personalised prevention
Advanced AI models design small molecules, predict treatment
responses and orchestrate prevention plans based on your genetics, lifestyle and
real-time biometrics. Wearables, implants and home tests feed continuous data
into systems that keep you within a healthy longevity “lane”.
How AI reshapes longevity
2030–2045 · Multi-Path Rejuvenation
Therapy stacks
2030s–2040s (projected)
Stacking therapies to reverse biological age
Combinations of senolytics, gene therapies, stem cell treatments,
autophagy enhancers, mTOR and AMPK modulation start to deliver
multi-year reductions in biological age in humans. Aging is reframed as a
manageable collection of failure modes, with protocols tuned to each
person’s damage profile.
Roadmaps & scenarios
2040–2060 · Longevity Escape Velocity
Escape-velocity window
Mid-century (speculative)
Adding >1 healthy year for every year lived
If progress compounds, rejuvenation therapies and AI-guided medicine could extend
healthy lifespan faster than time passes. Each decade brings upgrades that
repair damage faster than it accumulates – the core idea of
Longevity Escape Velocity (LEV).
Understand LEV
2050–2100+ · Post-Aging Civilisation (Speculative)
Beyond aging
Late 21st century+
Space, super-longevity & new kinds of lives
Mature longevity tech merges with space colonisation, advanced robotics,
AI companions, neural interfaces and perhaps early mind-upload-adjacent systems.
Human lifespans become open-ended for those with access; the central questions shift
from “How long can we live?” to “What should we build with all this time?”
Imagine this horizon