Will you live to 100?

A genetic test which tells whether you will make it to your century has been developed by scientists.

The computer program will give individuals their odds of reaching the age of 100 - and tell them whether their chances are higher or lower than average.

Its inventors, from the respected Boston University in the U.S., say it will allow those not blessed with the cocktail of 'centenarian genes' to make changes to their lifestyle to maximise the time they have.

The researchers studied the DNA of 1,600 centenarians, including some as old as 119, and compared it with the DNA of others. 

This highlighted 150 genetic changes which were more common in those who lived to a ripe old age. They could be broken down into 19 groups, or genetic 'signatures', the journal Science reports.

Researcher Dr Paola Sebastiani said: 'Some signatures correlate with the longest survival, other signatures correlate with the most delayed onset of age-related diseases such as dementia or cardiovascular disease.'

And the researchers' method is only 77 per cent accurate - meaning almost a quarter of those tested could be told they didn't have what it takes to live to 100, when in fact they did. 

One in 15 has the right combination of genes to live to 100, but just one in 600 actually makes it, meaning factors such as healthcare, diet and exercise are hugely important.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1291242/That-genetic-test-predicts-live-100-Scientists-pinpoint-19-markers-long-life.html#ixzz0sqXzQSJB

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Scientists keenly studying the DNA of a 17-year-old girl who has body / behaviour of a baby

Scientists are hoping to gain new insights into the mysteries of ageing by sequencing the genome of a 17-year-old girl who has the body and behaviour of a tiny toddler.

Brooke Greenberg is old enough to drive a car and next year will be old enough to vote — but at 16lb in weight and just 30in tall, she is still the size of a one-year-old.

If confirmed, the research could give scientists a fresh understanding of ageing and even suggest new therapies for diseases linked to old age.

“We think that she has a mutation in the genes that control her ageing and development so that she appears to have been frozen in time.

“If we can compare her genome to the normal version then we might be able to find those genes and see exactly what they do and how to control them.”

Such research will be the focus of a conference at the Royal Society in London this week to be attended by some of the world’s leading age researchers.

It follows a series of scientific breakthroughs showing that the life span of many animals can be dramatically extended by making minute changes in single genes.

The work began with tiny worms known as C elegans, which normally live for only about a fortnight. Researchers have been able to extend their life span by up to 10 weeks by making small changes in certain genes.

The laboratory findings have been supported by research into humans, focusing on families whose members are long-lived. In one recent study Eline Slagboom, professor of molecular epidemiology at Leiden University, Holland, collected data on 30,500 people in 500 long-lived families to find the metabolic and genetic factors that make them special.

“Such people simply age slower than the rest of us,” she said. “Their skin is better, they have less risk of diseases of old age like diabetes, heart disease and hypertension and their ability to metabolise lipids and other nutrients is better. The question is: what is controlling all these different manifestations of slow ageing?

“So far, the evidence suggests that there could be just a few key genes in charge of it all. If we can find out where they are and how they work, it opens the way to new therapies against the diseases of ageing that could work in all of us.”

Walker and other researchers, including Kenyon, believe that finding the cause of Brooke Greenberg’s condition could be one way to pinpoint some of those genes.

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