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.
