Researchers Analyze DNA From 'Supercentenarians' Aged 110+ To Discover Secret To Longevity (nytimes.com)

biobricks writes: Scientists looking for clues to healthy longevity in people in their 90s and 100s haven't turned up a whole lot. It is thought that the DNA of the very old may be a good place to look, but people over 110 are one in five million in the United States. The New York Times chronicles one scientific quest to collect their DNA (Warning: source may be paywalled; alternative source). From the report: "James Clement, a self-described 'citizen-scientist,' has collected blood, skin and saliva samples from individuals aged 110-plus in 14 states and seven countries during the past six years, The New York Times reports. Mr. Clement has detected 2,500-plus differences between supercentenarian DNA and the general population. However, with a sample size of only some three dozen genomes, his team is still working to determine which genes are significant. One analysis suggested supercentenarians tended to inherit fewer genetic variations related to conditions like heart disease and Alzheimer's disease. However, since supercentenarians also tend to be more healthy than the general population, some researchers hypothesize there are other genetic benefits at play. For example, supercentenarians may boast genes that protect them from aspects of aging." Mr. Clement plans to release DNA sequences from the project, called the New England Centenarian Study, this month.

Comments

Correlation not Cause

[gurps_npc]

I suspect it is reversed to a large extent.

That is, the super-centagarians are not healthy because of genetics, but instead it is impossible to become a supercetagarian unless you are lucky enough to be healthy.

If for example you get infected with pneumonia and survive, it would not surprise me that it would weaken your lungs by say 4% and you end up dying at 80. If you never got the pneumonia you might have lived to 101 merely because you had 100% lung functionality.

Being healthy makes you live longer, it is not always a sign of lack of bad mutations..

In fact, sometimes bad genetic mutations can make you live longer.

Good example are the dwarfs of Ecuador that have Laron Syndrome http://discovermagazine.com/20.... They are basically immune to cancer and diabetes, but suffer convulsive disorders (and also are short).

If it isn't

[bobstreo]

Cuban cigars and 16+ year old single malt, I don't wanna live tp be that old...