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Quite some time ago, I enjoyed the great privilege of working at two of London's oldest National Health Service institutions—the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, in North-West London, and University College Hospital in Euston, in Central London—teaching psychology to young medical students in their late teens and early twenties. In that capacity, I collaborated with many physicians and nurses who specialised in a rather wide range of areas of healthcare expertise.
I shall never forget that, on one rather memorable occasion, I happened to speak to a very elderly and deeply intelligent rheumatologist who explained to me that he had just completed a huge research project about genetics and claimed that he could truly prove, at long last, that, based on his study of DNA, he and his team had become convinced that every single person actually possesses the biological potential to live to the age of 134 years. He underscored that after 134 years, all human genes will deteriorate completely, so that it would be impossible ever to celebrate our 140th birthday or our 150th birthday, but 134 should indeed be a true genetic opportunity for everyone.
To the best of my knowledge, this esteemed rheumatological colleague never published such potentially controversial data, but I shall never forget his extraordinary claim!
Of course, I know very few people who have survived for 134 years, but as readers will appreciate, in recent decades, far greater numbers of people have now become centenarians living to the age of 100 years, 102 years, or 104 years. Indeed, not long ago, I encountered an amazing woman who had just celebrated her 107th birthday and who spoke with such extraordinary clarity and with such deep intelligence that she revealed no signs of dementia whatsoever.