Article By: Dr. Zoe Arugay
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Photo: Corbis |
Who lives forver?
Well, surely noone from this planet, but according to Friday's isssue of the journal science, scientists have discovered a certain pattern of genes that gives an accurate prediction on who might live a longer life.
Paola Sebastiani and Dr. Thomas Perls, who leads a research team at Boston University, have revealed that they have identified a set of genetic variants that's capable of predicting a 77-percent accuracy of extreme logevity.
According to Reuters reports, in a recent study utilizing what is called a genome-wide association approach, the research team highlighted more than 1,000 people who lived to be 100 or more and matched them to 1,200 other people to be able to identify the genetic patterns that are common in 100-year-olds.
And for the first time, findings show that there are specific genetic variations that equip a person with an unusually long life.
In fact, Thomas Perls argues that exeptional longevity is not some process that cannot be figured out. He adds, "We've made quite some inroads here in terms of demonstrating a pretty important genetic component to this wonderful trait."
And while Dr. Perls believes that he has yet to come up with findings leading to youth elixirs (life-prolonging substance), he hopes they may be used to delay the start of Alzheimer's, and other age-related diseases.
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