荷兰科学家发现人类寿命上限

Researchers claim to have discovered the maximum age 'ceiling' for human lifespan. 

研究人员称，他们发现了人类寿命的上限。

Despite growing life expectancy because of better nutrition, living conditions and medical care, Dutch scientists say our longevity cannot keep extending forever. 

Women can only live to a maximum of 115.7 years, they said, while men can only hope for 114.1 years at the most. 

The research by statisticians at Tilburg and Rotterdam's Erasmus universities said however there were still some people who had bent the norm, like French woman Jeanne Calment who died at the ripe old age of 122 years and 164 days in 1997. 

Lifespan is the term used to describe how long an individual lives, while life expectancy is the average duration of life that individuals in an age group can expect to have - a measure of societal wellbeing.

Earlier this year, another team of Dutch researchers, this time from the University of Groningen, said 125 is achievable by 2070. 

Meanwhile, a team from McGill University challenge whether there can be any limit on how long people can live.