Human lifespan in the Star Trek universe

[StarCruiser]

According to Memory Beta the human lifespan is 150 years in the 'normal' universe and 120 years in the Terran empire universe. I know MB is not canon, but most of the novelverse follows this longer lived humans in their plots, and in canon Dr McCoy was still around in 24th century looking like a 90 year old man in a 137 year old body. So does this mean:-
1. Humans work longer and retire when they reach 100 years old
2. Humans genetically manipulated their DNA to live longer and be fairly agile in old age (leftovers from the Augment virus)
3. Humans slow down their ageing process, so an average 80 year old human in the Star Trek universe looks like an average 50 year old human in RL
4. Retirement homes are an even bigger business in the Star Trek universe

Most likely - better healthcare, better nutrition and most folks exercise enough but, not so much as to damaged themselves...etc...

 

[Longinus]

I might be in the minority, but I always felt that McCoy at 137 was far more the exception than the rule and that it was rare for a Human to live that long, even in the 24th-Century, I could see 120 being the average Human lifespan, though, so McCoy being as old as he was wasn't impossible, just not the norm, IMO.

Yep. 120 of average lifespan would already be amazing. We really don't see any other people living insanely long in the shows or films. I think the crazy long lifespans in the books are due the authors' desire to keep using TOS characters in TNG era. They live longer than people today, but not twice as long. The lifespan is probably also longer in 24th century than in 24th. They also stay healthy and active longer. Picard was 74 in Nemesis, and had no plans of retiring.

 

[F. King Daniel]

I like to think the Admiral Archer mentioned in 2009 Star Trek was the same guy from Enterprise, age 146. My head-canon is that humans in Trek's era live longer because of Vulcan medicine, meaning anyone post-First Contact can live a long time if the plot demands it.

 

[Longinus]

I don't mind Archer living long, as long as he does it in a Federation penal colony.

 

[matthunter]

100-150 seems about right given they've cured many forms of cancer and age-related neurological issues. The environment is generally healthier too so fewer stresses and strains on the immune system, heart, etcetera. Some tissues are composed of non-dividing cells but they can likely clone stem cells to patch up any accumulative damage/wear 'n' tear.

There are some discrepancies - Mark Jameson in TNG's Too Short A Season was even more physically decrepit than EaF McCoy - and according to Memory Alpha he was just shy of 100 (born 2279, ep set in 2364) - though he did have "Iverson's Disease" which caused him to be physically confined to a wheelchair whilst leaving his mental faculties intact - the lack of exercise might have contributed to him looking "older than his years".

Other humanoid species who are biologically very close to human - Trill (humans can host symbionts, albeit briefly) and Bajorans (can act as surrogate mothers) have similar lifespans - Curzon Dax was "late to his own 100th birthday party" and there was a 100-year old Bajoran judge overseeing Dax's trial in "Dax" when the symbiont was accused of murder.

 

[Nyotarules]

I like to think the Admiral Archer mentioned in 2009 Star Trek was the same guy from Enterprise, age 146. My head-canon is that humans in Trek's era live longer because of Vulcan medicine, meaning anyone post-First Contact can live a long time if the plot demands it.

My fanon is humans live long because during the Eugenics war the scientists spiked the water supply and released an airborne virus that would eventually increase the longevity and health of the human population (a reverse Dan Brown's Inferno conspiracy lol) without turning them into megalomaniacs. So long lived humans from 130 something or so from the 22nd century onward was as normal as today's real life having more and more centenarians in our communities. The average human lifespan might be 120 years old (RL its around 80 years) with people living to 140 being the exception.
Maybe Starfleet officers get some secret long life elixir as a thank you for their years of service, how else is Uhura, Chekov and McCoy still around and in Uhura's case an active Admiral in the 24th century novelverse?

 

[Longinus]

Maybe Starfleet officers get some secret long life elixir as a thank you for their years of service, how else is Uhura, Chekov and McCoy still around and in Uhura's case an active Admiral in the 24th century novelverse?

That's just silly and thankfully novels are not canon. Most of these extreme lifespans come from the books, and the reason, as stated before, is the authors' desire to fannishly have TOS characters to interact with TNG era characters without having to come up with some sort of convoluted time travel plot. And the Federation having a secret medical technology fr the use of the elite is of course absolutely absurd suggestion and goes against the ideals of the Federation.

 

[Herbert]

I might be in the minority, but I always felt that McCoy at 137 was far more the exception than the rule and that it was rare for a Human to live that long, even in the 24th-Century, I could see 120 being the average Human lifespan, though, so McCoy being as old as he was wasn't impossible, just not the norm, IMO.

I agree. If you look at the conversation between Data and McCoy, 137 seems to be unusually old and beyond the normal lifespan for a human in the 24th century.

 

[Herbert]

That's just silly and thankfully novels are not canon.

Indeed. I wish I could like this 10 times.

 

[Nyotarules]

That's just silly and thankfully novels are not canon. Most of these extreme lifespans come from the books, and the reason, as stated before, is the authors' desire to fannishly have TOS characters to interact with TNG era characters without having to come up with some sort of convoluted time travel plot. And the Federation having a secret medical technology fr the use of the elite is of course absolutely absurd suggestion and goes against the ideals of the Federation.

1. Of course its silly, it was meant to be
2. 'The ideals of the Federation' are subject to whoever is writing the screenplay or the novel. Secret medical technology is as valid a plot device as a human making a baby with an alien. And the latter is canon.

 

[Kor]

That's just silly and thankfully novels are not canon. Most of these extreme lifespans come from the books, and the reason, as stated before, is the authors' desire to fannishly have TOS characters to interact with TNG era characters without having to come up with some sort of convoluted time travel plot. And the Federation having a secret medical technology fr the use of the elite is of course absolutely absurd suggestion and goes against the ideals of the Federation.

It wouldn't be the first time that things that went against the ideals of the Federation were quietly tolerated or "ignored" within the Federation.

Kor

 

[Longinus]

It wouldn't be the first time that things that went against the ideals of the Federation were quietly tolerated or "ignored" within the Federation.

Sure, but stuff like Section 31 are an abomination and should not exist. Longevity treatments for the elite have a place in Warhammer 40 000, not in Star Trek.

 

[Tim Thomason]

They just inject Augment blood. That stuff cures everything.

 

[Kemaiku]

They just inject Augment blood. That stuff cures everything.

Except death, facial blemishes, personality flaws...

 

[Tenacity]

and goes against the ideals of the Federation

Which ideals of the Federation would those be?

Sound like a great motivator to keep highly trained and experienced people in Starfleet.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

140 neatly ties in with McCoy's age. He was kind of a health nut, so I can see him bucking the trend and being a healthier 137 than most (like those 95-year-olds today who walk around and engage with people day-to-day despite advanced age).

I imagine he stays up on the latest treatments and regimens. I could also see him offering to be a test subject for a new one to spare other folks in case it doesn't work out.

 

[matthunter]

Which ideals of the Federation would those be?

Sound like a great motivator to keep highly trained and experienced people in Starfleet.

If there's a risk to the treatments, you're killing off an experience and valuable officer who could still contribute for a decade, on a roll of the dice that they could function for another five decades.

If there's no risk, and you're keeping the tech restricted to a particular subset of society, you're depriving people of a valid medical treatment. Medical ethics alone would be against this.

We're getting close to the "keeping the Ba'ku planet and its metaphasic radiation for ourselves" argument from Insurrection in that event.

 

[Timo]

If there's no risk, and you're keeping the tech restricted to a particular subset of society, you're depriving people of a valid medical treatment. Medical ethics alone would be against this.

And they might indeed be alone in their opposition. If the longevity cure is an expensive one, or difficult to dish out in quantity, then "national interests" might dictate keeping it from civilians and prioritizing the military. Much as with antibiotics in WWII.

The military is in a special position here anyway, generally being in the forefront of interaction with alien cultures and their secrets. There may also be privileged among the long-ranging traders or daring colonists, of course. But e.g. McCoy would be a prime example of a recipient of "deep space treatments" affecting his longevity. He would be subjected not only to weird space disease and potentially rare and expensive cures to that, but to strange rejuvenating or rapidly aging experiences that might take decades off him, in either sense of the expression. "The Deadly Years" and "Lorelei Signal" could have made him live forty years longer than otherwise, or then forty years less.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

In my Head Canon / Fanon. Humanity has gotten past their fears of Genetic Engineering and has gone with slower and less extreme augmentations of humanity, but enhanced the longevity of all humans.

Of course my story is set at the beginning of the 26th century 2501/01-01.
Minimum Normal human life span in the 26th Century is now an average of 136 years +/- 16 years
By 3300 AD, the projected minimum pure human life span will be 160 + 3 months & look like a 21st century 53 years old
The average humans will eventually will die of natural death at 255-256 years due to limits on genetic engineering which is fine given how much of a quality of life enhancement Humanity has been given by genetic engineering.

The physical aging of Average Genetically enhanced humans will be normal until around 16-17 years old which then will slow down dramatically in rate of outwards aging. The only time the aging process will speed back up is when the human is near natural death.
Thanks to genetic engineering, the oldest a human will look and function at age 120 if they were born in the 26th century is a current day (21st Century) healthy 60 years old.
Humans will have a Final Stage of aging where the last ~49.7 days will have the body age dramatically in that time period.
Human Hair will grow from it's natural color to white in that time frame as a visual indicator of oncoming death. A side effect is that Human Hair won't Whiten until the very end.
The Body's outer physical appearance will age an additional 10 years in the final ~49.7 days before death.
The Body's sudden aging in it's final phase will be a direct reminder of oncoming death, but that the person had a long life where their body aged at a significantly slower rate than 21st century humans thanks to the benefits of Genetic Engineering.
Ergo, the practical / physical benefits of having a significantly longer period of time where humans get to live a high quality of life due to the youthfulness in that time period is hard to beat with further generations down the line getting to expand that duration slowly over a long scale of time.

Other benefits of Genetic Engineering is that the average Human has:
- 66% better lung efficiency for their respective sex.
- The gap between male to female average ratio in physical statistics is ~25% smaller.
- Average intelligence is 60% better than 21st century.
- Heart Muscles are twice as strong.
- Average human vision, olfactory sense, hearing, and taste are at peak human capabilities of the 21st Century.
- The average female has John Cena (in his prime) level of power with a modern day average Hollywood Starlet / Model physique.
- The average female has Jackie Chan (in his prime) level of agility and reflexes.
- The average female has Usain Bolt (in his prime) level of running acceleration and speed.
- The average super thin female can survive in the vacuum of space for 2^18 seconds (~4.37 mins).

 

[Tenacity]

By 3300 AD, the projected minimum pure human life span will be 160 + 3 months & look like a 21st century 53 years old

By 3300 AD Humans likely have cease to die of natural causes.