The genes that might help you make it past a century

The genes that might help you make it past a century

If you carry protective variants of four recently discovered genes that: 1) determine blood group; 2) regulate cellular life cycles; 3) help the immune system to recognize the body’s own cells; and 4) a gene which has been proven to extend lifespan in fruit flies, then you have a good chance of living past 100.

The discovery was made by looking at the genomes of centenarians which join APOE – the gene which is known to influence the risk of Alzheimer’s.

Scientists from Stanford University argue that around 1/5th of our lifespan is genetic although it is not possible to predict how long someone will live based on their genes.

 

Born to Engineer Weekly

Get the latest Engineering news delivered to your inbox every Monday morning