Decode the 115-year-old woman's genome

The entire gene sequence of the old man who lived to 115 years of age has been decoded in the laboratory, allowing scientists to further study longevity.

More than 10 years since the scientific community first published a draft of the human genome, Dutch experts have so far published the special genetic sequence of a woman living up to 115 years old, the oldest of the I die. The results of this study were reported at the American Society of Human Genetics annual conference in Canada, in the hope of helping experts open the door to longevity.

The secretly old elderly man, known only as W115 , is also the longest-lived person coded for the genome. Only a few hundred individuals have been decoding the entire genetic sequence for more than a decade, thanks to 'reading' technology that DNA is becoming cheaper and more accurate. W115 has donated her body for scientific research, allowing doctors to learn about the brain and other organs of the body, as well as analyze her genome. Dr. Henne Holstege of VU University in Amsterdam said she seems to possess some special genes that protect against dementia and diseases of old age.

W115 was born prematurely and her parents were desperate because they thought their children could not survive. However, in fact, she had a long and healthy life, only going to a nursing home when she was 105 years old. She died of tumors in her stomach, and was treated for breast cancer at age 100. According to BBC , the test of brain capacity at 113 years old showed that her mind was as clear as 60-75 years old. After her death, the autopsy results showed no signs of dementia, or narrowed blood vessels in case of cardiovascular disease.

Commenting on the VU University report, Dr. Jeffrey Barrett of the Sanger Center at Cambridge said that this is the beginning of the inquiry into why the diversity of DNA is related to the healthy long-lived process of human. However, more research is needed before final conclusions can be drawn.