Curie Brief
Turn on cookies to sign in
Signing in saves your progress to your Curie account. We can only do that with cookies on — turn them on to continue.
News
A groundbreaking multi-omic study of Maria Branyas — the world's longest-lived person — found a surprising paradox: her body showed signs of extreme aging and powerful biological protection at the same time. She had short telomeres and an aged immune system, but also low inflammation, beneficial gut bacteria, and a biological age younger than her actual years. The findings could reshape how scientists understand — and potentially treat — aging itself.
A team led by Dr. Manel Esteller at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute has published the most comprehensive biological study ever conducted on a supercentenarian — Maria Branyas, who lived to 117. Using multi-omic analysis (genomic, proteomic, epigenomic, metabolomic, and microbiomic), researchers uncovered a striking paradox: her body simultaneously displayed hallmarks of extreme aging and remarkable biological resilience.
On the aging side, Branyas had very short telomeres, a pro-inflammatory immune profile, and an aged B-lymphocyte population. But she also carried genetic traits linked to neuroprotection and cardioprotection, had genuinely low inflammation, a gut microbiome rich in beneficial bifidobacteria, and an epigenetic biological age younger than her chronological age. Because Branyas avoided major disease throughout her life, researchers were able to study aging largely in isolation — a first for someone of such extreme age.
Key Takeaways:
Why it matters: If human life expectancy has plateaued, understanding the biology of aging — not just disease — becomes the next frontier. This study gives scientists a rare, detailed roadmap of what "healthy" extreme aging can look like.
