Story highlights New research suggests that any maximum fixed lifespan has yet to be reached

At 105, you have a 50% chance of living another year, researchers say

(CNN) After the age of 105, the risk of death for humans slows, plateaus and even decreases in some instances, according to a new study.

The research, published Friday in the journal Science, suggests that any maximum fixed lifespan has yet to be reached -- and that human longevity is actually increasing.

"The increasing number of exceptionally long-lived people and the fact that their mortality beyond 105 is seen to be declining across cohorts -- lowering the mortality plateau or postponing the age when it appears -- strongly suggest that longevity is continuing to increase over time and that a limit, if any, has not been reached," the researchers wrote in the study.

Forging credible theories on the limits of human life demands solid data around mortality at extreme ages, according to the study. But given how few centenarians there are, good data have eluded researchers, said Joop de Beer, a population aging and longevity researcher at the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute in The Hague, who was not involved in the study.

As a consequence, the issue of whether human mortality limits are expanding has remained a contentious one.

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