DNA Sequenced of Woman Who Lived To 115

chrb writes "The DNA of W115 — an anonymous woman who lived to the age of 115 years and left her body to science — has been sequenced. Despite her old age, W115 showed no signs of dementia or heart disease, and tests at the age of 113 showed she had the mental abilities of a woman aged 60-75 years. Dr. Henne Holstege of the Department of Clinical Genetics at the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam has suggested W115 had rare genetic changes in her DNA which protected against Alzheimer's and other late-life diseases."

Comments

Hopefully

[Totenglocke]

Hopefully this leads to people being able to have their DNA modified so that we no longer have to deal with mental diseases like Alzheimer's.

Re:Hopefully

[tirefire]

Hopefully this leads to people being able to have their DNA modified so that we no longer have to deal with mental diseases like Alzheimer's.

And once a precedent has been set, it's just 20 precious years until GATTACA.

Re:Hopefully

[mercnet]

"I belonged to a new underclass, no longer determined by social status or the color of your skin. No, we now have discrimination down to a science."

Re:Hopefully

[evilviper]

That's a lame hope...

I hope we find the underlying cause and determine that simple dietary and behavioral changes will make such diseases fleetingly rare.

Re:Hopefully

[geogob]

I don't think it will go in that direction (or I hope, to be more precise). But understanding what in her genome protected here from dementia-like diseases may help to identified exactly where in the cellular process these illnesses act and how. It could give you a very fundamental understanding of how these diseases work. This is the first step in finding either a cure (which is very unlikely) but above all a first step to find a way to identify people at risk early and provide proper treatment/nutrition to block the progression of the illness before it even starts.

I bet this will happen, because this is the favorite scheme of pharmas.... hook people early on a life long expensive medication. But if it stops Alzheimer and old-age dementia, I'll for once agree to this scheme. If you don't, you probably had no one close who went through these diseases at their end of life.

Re:Hopefully

[Trubadidudei]

Because if this is done in the germ line, it will end in a social catastrophy.
What will happen when a group of people can say with reason that they are better humans then the rest of us? Today, it is possible to climb the social ladder because if you raise your kid right, he might not be so different from the kid of a millionaire, but when the millionaire kids are more intelligent and healthy by default, how is anyone ever going to go up in society?
Imagine the riots that will happen once 90% of the population has no chance at getting a good job or ever having a family member get a good job, not because they do not work hard, but because they are "lesser" humans than the 10% on top.

The only way this technology can ever be used for enhancement without creating a dystopia is if the state intervenes to raise the bottom along with the top, but that is also difficult due to the costs, and the fact the rich will be the only ones who can keep up with the newer and newer "models" of DNA enhacement.

Re:Hopefully

[houghi]

The difference is want and need. If you steal a bread to feed your children (and yourself) is a want. To steal an xbox to entertain your children is a want.

The differences are thus basically if it is something you want or something you need? Food, shelter, education, ... Those are things you need. Caviar, a huge mansion, Ivy League, ... Those are things you want.

There are billions of people who are in a less fortunate situation then the people here on /. yet they do not steal. The majority of crime is done by peoples own choice. The exceptions are those who steel out of need. Aside from the exception (stealing out of need to feed) theft is a clear choice.

It is done because people think they can get away with it AND because it is a shortcut to what they want.

Re:Hopefully

[houghi]

Her mother became 99 and 10 months. A brother and sister also became pretty old. Not sure what happened to another sister. My father is in his 90-ies and behaves like a 65 year old. We are directly related to her. She was my grand-fathers sister.

For that reason I have contacted the doctor to ask him how I (and my father agreed to do the same) could be able to help. e.g. by giving some blood so they can see after we die if there was anything there. She did not have any children herself, so for now all we know is that she might have been the only person with that part of DNA.
Not sure if my sister (and her kids) is willing to do the same. Or my nephews. We all live in different countries around the world and some I have no way of contacting.

She also was under investigation for about 20 years, so they already knew a lot about her lifestyle. It is not like they dropped a body on the doorstep and they had to go from there.

Re:Hopefully

[vlm]

when the millionaire kids are more intelligent and healthy by default

They already are. Better food / less heavy metal contamination / mental stimulation results in higher intelligence. Its laughable to claim rich kids are not healthier than other kids, first of all on average they're probably the only kids permitted regular pediatrician visits.

Re:Hopefully

[somersault]

Diet and learned behavior also run in families.

Re:Hopefully

[aliquis]

4: insightful?

"Today, it is possible to climb the social ladder ...Imagine the riots that will happen once 90% of the population has no chance at getting a good job or ever having a family member get a good job, not because they do not work hard, but because they are "lesser" humans than the 10% on top."

You do realize it's exactly the same being born in a poor family on the wrong continent today?

Or you wanna say the opportunities is the same for someone born here in Sweden or in a wealthy family in the US as it is in a village in Somalia?

Re:Hopefully

[Dr. Spork]

Wait, are you saying that society is actually better off because we're susceptible to miserable degenerative diseases like Alzheimer's? If so, you're an asshole. But despite that, I don't wish it on you to watch your parents succumb to Alzheimer's.

Re:Hopefully

[Xacid]

"She did not have any children herself"

I think I discovered the reason she lived so long! ;)

Re:Hopefully

[mabhatter654]

Well it's more like society is better off so we don't have to live at the edge of starvation and wild animals and disease. The average lifespan even as late as the 1700's was only 40 years for even wealthy people. People simply didn't live LONG enough to display these diseases until recently and only in the last 30 years have we developed the social conscience to not just write these people off as lost causes.

Not surprising...

[demonlapin]

People over the age of 90 are typically very healthy - people with bad health habits often die before 70, though a few last until their mid-80s. If you make it to 90, you've got a very good chance of making 100. In addition, healthy people usually have good intellects regardless of their age - I've met more than a few 90+ year olds who are quite sharp.

Re:Not surprising...

[Anonymous Coward]

Citation needed. This table claims life expancy at 90 is 3.8 years (in the US?).

Oblig. Farnsworth Quote

[fragMasterFlash]

"Good news, everyone!"

Anonymous-shmanonymous

[leob]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hendrikje_van_Andel-Schipper#Genome

Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper is W115

[houghi]

She was my great aunt : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hendrikje_van_Andel-Schipper

She donated her body already at the age of 80-85. To be talking in /. terms, she open sourced her body. She gave it to science or in her words "Let students and doctors cut me into little pieces and let those youngsters find out why I became this old." She had yearly meetings with the doctor who told her the whole procedure of what would happen when she died.
That was also the reason some nurse was with her, so when the moment came, they would not loose any valuable time.

This is not disrespectful. This was her wish for more then 20 years.

The reason she is "anonymous" is because some idiots were claiming to be speaking of her behalf and said that a doctor could not bring out personal information regardless of the fact that this was the specific demand of the patient. Let the knowledge be spread. And knowing her, that would include her name as well.

As her closest family (my dad, born 1930 and still healthy) and myself are living in other countries, we did not know of this trouble. Otherwise at least I would have intervened.

I also like to donate my blood (or just DNA if it is a nice looking nurse) for the same research, but I am afraid it might end up with some sort of Monsanto. Scary that I am afraid of a company stealing my DNA when I want to give it to science.

Re:Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper is W115

[houghi]

RMS? I rather give my body to Bill Gates.

Re:Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper is W115

[quenda]

RMS? I rather give my body to Bill Gates.

He is waiting.
http://www.neowin.net/forum/uploads/post-59416-1105987532.jpg

Re:anonymous woman?

[houghi]

Try http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hendrikje_van_Andel-Schipper and you would be right.

I know. my father is her nephew and he still has occasional contact with that doctor. We even knew about this news a month ago, but he asked us to keep it quiet till he presented it.

Re:Given her age...

[houghi]

She wasn't. She did not dislike alcohol. Many stories she told me where not always about events where everybody was sober. Being the first to walk the ice in winter so your name would be engraved in the local pub will be just one of those.

Re:Alzheimer's - Old timer's

[Soralin]

It's an http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggcorn

Re:It's actually bad to donate to science.

[TheoMurpse]

The AVERAGE life expectancy of Tibetans and Hunza muslims is around 115

Just so you know, everyone reading your post knows you're full of it.