Maria Branyas Morera, US-born supercentenarian who died in Spain last August, found to have microbiota of an infantThe US-born woman who was the world’s oldest living person before she died in Spain last August at age 117 once attributed her longevity to “luck and good genetics”. And, evidently, Maria Branyas Morera was right.A study of Branyas’s microbiome and DNA that scientists began conducting before her death reportedly determined that the genes she inherited allowed her cells to essentially feel and behave as if they were 17 years younger than they actually were. And Branyas’s microbiota – which primarily refers to the bacteria in people’s guts that has a role in keeping them healthy – mirrored that of an infant, according to the research led by University of Barcelona genetics professor Manel Esteller, a leading expert on ageing. Continue reading...
A study of Maria Branyas, who lived to 117, found she possessed genes that made her cells behave as if they were 17 years younger, and a microbiota similar to that of an infant. Researchers hope the findings will aid in developing treatments for age-related illnesses.
