Brazil is a country where many people live healthily beyond 100. There is a 106-year-old woman who won her first swimming competition at 100, a 107-year-old man who still works, and a nun who enjoyed chocolate all her life and lived to 116. They are supercentenarians who live beyond the longevity milestone of 100 to age 110 or older.
The journal Nature said on the 27th that a University of São Paulo team decoded the genes of supercentenarians and found that the secret to longevity is innate genetic diversity rather than lifestyle habits or access to medical care. The findings were published in the journal Genomic Psychiatry.
◇ The melting pot of races is the secret to longevity
In the DNA Longevo research project, the team decoded the genes of more than 160 long-lived people. Twenty participants were supercentenarians who reached 110. The long-lived participants said they did not have special diets or exercise hard. The researchers inferred that genetic diversity, rather than those factors, influenced longevity. Zatz said, "Brazil is well known as a country made up of diverse races, and this may have contributed to their longevity."
In fact, most participants were found to have ancestors of mixed European, African and Indigenous American descent. Paola Sebastiani of Tufts University School of Medicine, a biostatistician, said, "Until now, longevity research has focused on genetically homogeneous groups," and noted, "This study helped fill a gap in the field."
Another feature of Brazil's long-lived people is that most lived healthily despite limited access to medical care. Zatz said, "Many participants lived in small towns far from hospitals." Until now, most longevity research has been conducted mainly in the United States, Europe and Japan, where access to care is easier. Manel Esteller of the University of Barcelona School of Medicine said, "This suggests that healthy aging is driven by factors other than the latest targeted therapies or early screening."
◇ The nun who enjoyed chocolate and was the world's oldest person
Supercentenarians have changed common perceptions of the very old. Among the participants in this study was nun Inah Canabarro Lucas. Sister Lucas was recognized as the world's oldest person before dying at 116 in Apr. last year. Like the other participants, Sister Lucas did not restrict sugar or fat intake. Zatz said, "Sister Lucas loved chocolate very much," adding, "She smiled brightly when we gave her chocolate for Easter."
Another notable case is Laura Oliveira, a 106-year-old woman who started swimming at 70 and won her first competition 30 years later. The fact that the secret to longevity lies in genes can be seen in the Oliveira family. Laura has younger sisters who are 106 and 101, and an aunt who is 110. Zatz said, "Because genetic factors play an important role in longevity, such families are particularly worth studying," adding, "The Oliveira sisters live in different places, so their longevity is not the result of sharing the same environment."
A 107-year-old man is the oldest person in Brazil with a formal job. He organizes shopping carts at a supermarket. The team said the way he worked was completely different from the typical image of a 100-year-old. Most of the long-lived participants still had good cognitive function.
◇ Identifying longevity genes by making mini organs
To identify gene variants unique to supercentenarians, the researchers are comparing them with genetic information from young people who died of natural causes. At the same time, they are reprogramming participants' blood cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). iPS cells are created by introducing specific genes or proteins into mature cells to return them to an embryonic stem cell-like state early in development.
Depending on conditions, iPS cells can grow into any cell in the human body. The team also created brain organoids from iPS cells. Organoids are stem cells cultured into three-dimensional structures resembling organs and are called mini organs. Muscle, lung and heart organoids are also in preparation.
The researchers are also measuring participants' immune function and biochemical markers. With this, they plan to generate reference values to understand what "normal" looks like at those ages. Zatz said, "It is not enough to identify genetic variants," adding, "If we can reveal what those variants actually do, we can benefit people who do not have them."
References
Genomic Psychiatry (2026), DOI: https://doi.org/10.61373/gp026v.0009