She was the world’s oldest person, living to 117. What do her genes reveal about the secret of longevity?

Originally published in edition.cnn.com by Issy Ronald, on September 26, 2.025

Maria Branyas Morera lived to be 117 years old.
Courtesy Manel Esteller)

When a supercentenarian, someone who is older than 110 years old, is interviewed, they are inevitably asked to share their tips for longevity.

But what if their secret could be studied scientifically? What could their genome tell us about ageing and why they avoid the diseases that claim so many other people? If any secrets were uncovered, might they, perhaps, help others to live as long, too?

Questions like these are at the heart of a recent paper, published Wednesday in the journal Cell Reports Medicine, which investigated the genome of Maria Branyas Morera, a US-born Spanish woman who died in August 2024 at age 117 years and 168 days, shortly after becoming the world’s oldest living person.

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