DNA study of 117-year-old woman reveals clues to long life

(Web Desk) - There's no escaping the unrelenting passage of time, but super centenarians who live to see their 110th birthday have a peculiar ability to postpone the inevitable.

A thorough health evaluation of one of the world's oldest people, Maria Branyas, suggests that one of the reasons she lived to 117 was that she possessed an exceptionally young genome.

Some of her rare genetic variants are linked to longevity, immune function, and a healthy heart and brain. Scientists in Spain say they are now using these findings to "provide a fresh look at human aging biology, suggesting biomarkers for healthy aging, and potential strategies to increase life expectancy."

The results are based on blood, saliva, urine, and stool samples that Branyas volunteered before her passing in 2024, when she was the oldest living person in the world.

According to a team led by scientists at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute in Barcelona, Branyas had cells that "felt" or "behaved" as though they were much younger than her chronological age.

She exceeded the average life expectancy of women in her home of Catalonia by more than 30 years.In her ripe old age, Branyas presented with overall good health, scientists say, marked by excellent cardiovascular health and very low levels of inflammation.

Despite her advanced years, her immune system and gut microbiome both had markers that matched much younger cohorts. She also displayed extremely low levels of 'bad' cholesterol and triglycerides, and very high levels of 'good' cholesterol.All of these factors may help explain her excellent health and extreme longevity.

"Extreme human lifespan, exemplified by supercentenarians, presents a paradox in understanding aging: despite advanced age, they maintain relatively good health," write the researchers, led by epigeneticists Eloy Santos-Pujol and Aleix Noguera-Castells.

Branyas lived a mentally, socially, and physically active life, but she also lucked out on genetics.

While eating a Mediterranean diet high in yogurt may have played a role in her lengthy life, extreme longevity is probably influenced by a wide range of genetic and environmental variables.