Scientists studied a 117-year-old for secret to her long life. What they found

Jennifer Rodriguez, Miami Herald on Sep 28, 2025

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A new study done on a woman who lived to be 117 points to possible factors that could’ve helped her live such a long life.

Maria Branyas Morera died at 117 years old in 2024, according to CBS News. She was the oldest known person alive at the time of her death, the outlet reported.

Before dying, she asked to be studied and was analyzed for three years, CBS News reported.

“During her lifetime, we extracted samples that would cause the least possible disturbance to her, including saliva, blood, urine, and feces. We didn’t study anything that would cause excessive disturbance, because it’s one thing for her to be generous and lend her samples for study, and another thing to take advantage,” Eloy Santos, a researcher at the Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute and lead author of the study, told El Pais.

The results of the study were published Sept. 24 in the journal Cell Reports Medicine and detail key factors that may have influenced Morera’s longevity.

Scientists studied her “genomic, transcriptomic, metabolomic, proteomic, microbiomic, and epigenomic landscapes in different tissues” and compared them with younger populations, according to the study.

Although Morera, who lived for 117 years and 168 days, had signs of aging, she did not develop major age-associated diseases, the study showed.

The study found that the key to longevity may be a “balance between nature and nurture.”

“The conclusion is that the clues for extreme longevity are a mix between what we inherited from our parents and what we do in our lives,” Dr. Manel Esteller, study author and chairman of genetics at the University of Barcelona’s School of Medicine, told CBS News.

The study showed Morera had “genetic variants protective against common diseases (e.g., cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, and neurodegeneration), an efficient lipid metabolism, an anti-inflammatory gut microbiome, and an epigenome associated with chromosomal stability and decelerated epigenetic aging.”

But she also lived a healthy lifestyle.

Morera was born in San Francisco to Spanish parents and moved to Spain at 8 years old, where she spent her life. She had “strong physical and mental health throughout life,” had good sleep habits, ate a balanced Mediterranean diet and had an active social life.

“She largely enjoyed from quality time with family and friends, playing with dogs, reading books, growing a garden, walking, and playing the piano,” the study said.

She had COVID-19 and “chronic age-related diseases like bronchiectasis, esophagus diverticulum, and osteoarthritis.” But she was never diagnosed with other age-related diseases such as cancer or neurodegenerative diseases, while her siblings were, the study said.

Three times a day, Morera ate yogurt containing bacteria that are known to add to the growth of Bifidobacterium in the gut, the study said.

Bifidobacterium is believed to be a good bacterium that contributes to anti-inflammatory responses, the study said.

“Importantly, the use of Bifidobacterium as a probiotic that could slow down the progression of many aging-associated disorders is gaining momentum,” the study said.

Researchers said that Morera’s yogurt consumption could be a dietary habit that “is associated with healthy aging and long lifespan.”

However, researchers noted that “whether the dominance of the Bifidobacterium related genus is fully attributable or not to the yogurt diet cannot be completely confirmed” without the collection of samples of a period of several years.

Researchers also noted that aging and longevity are “probably highly individualized processes” influenced by multiple factors and that “drawing broadly applicable conclusions from a single subject should be taken with caution.”

Overall, the study shows how age and age-related disease can become decoupled.

“We have the concept that aging is equivalent to illness and that one thing necessarily goes hand in hand with the other. But this woman has shown us that, to a certain extent, this doesn’t have to be the case,” Santos told El Pais.

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