Woman Who Lived to 117 Had Microbiota of a Child

After Maria Branyas died last year at age 117, genetics professor Manel Esteller said "she was dealt a great hand and has played her cards very well." The yogurt may have helped as well. Esteller and other researchers say Branyas had a gut biome "more typical of a child" than a woman over 100 years old, Ara reports. "We discovered a large quantity of bifidobacteria and a great diversity, which is indicative of a healthy microbiota," says researcher Xavier Aldeguer. Researchers say the characteristic is linked to control of cognition and inflammation. Esteller's team says Branyas remained lucid until almost the end of her life and she suffered few ailments apart from hearing loss and joint pain, the Guardian reports.

Researchers say Branyas had a "privileged genome," with cells that behaved like younger ones, lowering her biological age by around 17 years. At the nursing home in Spain where she spent her last 24 years, she ate a Mediterranean diet, including three yogurts a day. Aldeguer believes this explains her healthy gut biome. He says that if similar findings are made in other supercentarians, it may be possible to "develop some types of prebiotic patterns that are associated with longevity." Branyas was born in the US but her family moved back to Spain in 1915. Esteller, an expert on aging at the University of Barcelona, says no other supercentarian has been so extensively studied and Branyas was an enthusiastic participant, telling his team, "I'm studying myself."

In Branyas, who was the oldest person in the world when she died, researchers found "a combination of rare variants in multiple genes and pathways ... that probably acted together to promote her extraordinary longevity," Esteller says. Branyas also avoided smoking and drinking, exercised, and often spent time with family and friends. Esteller says the research shows that aging and illness are not always "inextricably linked." When she spoke to the Guinness Book of World Records in 2023, Branyas credited her longevity to "luck and good genetics," the Guardian reports. She said "order, tranquility, good connection with family and friends, contact with nature, emotional stability, no worries, no regrets, lots of positivity and staying away from toxic people" also played a role. (More longevity stories.)