DNA sequenced of woman who lived to 115

The genome of a woman who lived to be 115 years old was fully sequenced. At the time of her death she was the oldest woman in the world. Despite her age the woman has the mind of a person years younger than herself. Mental tests performed at the age of 113 showed that the woman had the mental acuity of a woman that was 60-75 years old.  She showed no signs of dementia either even at 115 years old. The woman donated her body to science allowing for her genes to be mapped, but her identity remains secret and she is called W115.



It is believed that some of her genes could have helped her live to the age of 115 and also helped to preserve her mental acuity. The precise function of these differences in her genes are not yet defined, but it is believed that they have to deal with helping to prevent dementia and other diseases that are associated with old age. This leads to the belief that there are genes that lead to long life and decreased risk of diseases associated with old age, such as Alzheimer’s. It is astonishing that this woman was born prematurely and expected to die as a result. However, she did meet her end at the hands of a stomach tumor and was also treated for breast cancer at the age of 100.

I find it to be a great discovery towards the key to longer life and defense against the diseases of old age. Alzheimer’s and diseases like it are some of the most crippling diseases today and if genetics can help the fight against these diseases I feel that it would be a great accomplishment. More genomes should be mapped in order to move forward in the fight against these diseases.