It appears that if you get past the ripe old age of 105 it is likely your DNA has the unique qualities of Iron Man, who is exceptionally good at repairing himself in the Marvel films.
Researchers led by Paolo Garagnani, of the University of Bologna, recruited 81 volunteers for genetic analysis from across Italy.
“Ageing is a common risk factor for several chronic diseases and conditions,” said Mr Garagnani, whose research was published in the Aging, Geroscience and Longevity: A Special Issue of the journal eLife.
“We chose to study the genetics of a group of people who lived beyond 105 years old and compare them with a group of younger adults from the same area in Italy, as people in this younger age group tend to avoid many age-related diseases and therefore represent the best example of healthy ageing.”
They identified five common genetic changes more frequent in the group aged over 105, with their DNA working really well in repairing itself and eliminating dangerous reactive oxygen species.
“Previous studies showed that DNA repair is one of the mechanisms allowing an extended lifespan across species,” said senior author Cristina Giuliani, Senior Assistant Professor at the Laboratory of Molecular Anthropology, University of Bologna, and a senior author of the study.
“We showed that this is true also within humans, and data suggest that the natural diversity in people reaching the last decades of life are, in part, linked to genetic variability that gives semi-supercentenarians the peculiar capability of efficiently managing cellular damage during their life course.”
So if you hit the 100 mark, it’s likely your DNA had a lot to do with it.
