A study has revealed that the secret to the longevity of Maria Branyas Morera, a Spanish woman who was the world's oldest person, lies in a combination of genetic factors and healthy lifestyle habits.
A research team from institutions including the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute and the University of Barcelona recently published their findings in the medical journal 'Cell Reports Medicine' after studying the genes and lifestyle of Branyas Morera, who passed away last year at the age of 117 years and 168 days.
Born in San Francisco, USA, in 1907, Branyas moved to her parents' home country of Spain at the age of 8. She lived through two World Wars, the Spanish Civil War, the Spanish flu, and the COVID-19 pandemic. She contracted and recovered from COVID-19 at the age of 113 and was the world's oldest person from 2023 until her death.
Her son died at the age of 52, but her two daughters are currently 92 and 94 years old. Other family members and relatives passed away from common diseases such as Alzheimer's, cancer, tuberculosis, kidney disease, and heart disease.
The research team used samples of her blood, saliva, urine, and feces, collected a year before her death, to create and analyze her biological profile, including her genome, transcriptome, metabolome, proteome, and microbiome. Branyas had personally asked Dr. Manel Esteller, head of the genetics department at the University of Barcelona's Faculty of Medicine, to "study me."
The team said that Branyas clearly showed signs of aging, such as chromosomal telomere attrition, an abnormal population of B cells, and clonal hematopoiesis, which increases the risk of leukemia and inflammatory diseases. Telomeres are protein complexes located at the ends of chromosomes.
What was different was that Branyas's telomeres were unusually short. Telomeres prevent DNA damage and recombination, maintaining chromosomal stability, and are also related to cancer cells. In normal cells, telomeres gradually shorten over time, but in cancer cells, they activate an enzyme to continuously lengthen the shortened telomeres, allowing them to keep dividing. The research team explained that Branyas's short telomeres might have prevented cancer by limiting the amount of cell division.
Additionally, DNA analysis identified genetic variations that protect heart and brain cells from disease and dementia. Her low inflammation levels throughout her body reduced her risk of cancer and diabetes, and her cholesterol and fat metabolism were efficient. "High levels of inflammation accelerate aging," said Dr. Esteller.
According to the research team, the high abundance of the beneficial bacteria Bifidobacterium in Branyas's microbiome was linked to her low inflammation levels. "Branyas ate three yogurts a day, and the bacteria in the yogurt likely contributed to her high levels of Bifidobacterium," the team explained.
The New York Times explained, "Branyas was, genetically, a lottery winner, with variations that could predict longevity." Dr. Esteller stated that Branyas's biological age was at least 10 to 15 years younger than her chronological age.
Her healthy lifestyle was also analyzed to have been a contributing factor. Branyas followed a Mediterranean diet, was not overweight, and did not smoke or drink alcohol. She walked for an hour every day until the early 2000s. Although she lived alone after 2001, she lived in the same village as her family and maintained a good social life, always surrounded by friends. She also played the piano until five years ago.
Some experts also pointed out that caution should be exercised in interpreting Branyas's case. Immaculata De Vivo, a researcher at Harvard University, said, "While genetics and metabolic factors can influence the probability of developing a disease, the causality of disease is more a matter of probability than an absolute." She added that good genes and a healthy microbiome alone are not enough to guarantee a long life.
There are also opinions that longevity cannot be explained by genetics and microbiome alone, and that socioeconomic factors such as education level, living environment, and income level significantly influence life expectancy.
Dr. Esteller said he hopes this research will lead to the development of new therapies for the health of the elderly.
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-DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2025.102368
