People could live to be 140 before the 21st century is over

Scientists say that a handful of the population born in the 1950s are on course to live to an unprecedented age, thanks to modern medicine.

Superior public health and a safer world could mean that the record is broken on a regular basis in the decades ahead.

The oldest-ever documented human was Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who died at the age of 122 in 1997.

Boffins say that living past 120 might become the norm and that the limit on human lifespan is "still far away".

The researchers have made the conclusion by studying data from 19 wealthy nations, and Dr David McCarthy has explained that people born from 1900 to 1950 are already "experiencing unprecedented death postponement".

The expert, from the University of Georgia in the US, said: "Our results show significant potential for records to be broken multiple times.

"If there is a maximum limit to the human lifespan, we are not yet approaching it."

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