Scientists study world’s oldest person to unearth secret to long life

Maria Branyas, the oldest woman in the world at 116, has agreed to help Spanish scientists

Scientists are studying the world’s oldest person to try to unearth the secret to a long life, after being bewildered by the “super grandmother’s” great health at 116 years old.

Maria Branyas was born in San Fransisco in 1907 but returned to Spain when she was eight and settled in Catalonia.

Ms Branyas, known to her X followers as the “Super Catalan Grandma”, has lived in the region ever since and has resided in the same nursing home, Residència Santa María del Tura, for the last 22 years, according to the Guinness World Records.

Now, the world record holder has agreed to undergo scientific testing – which researchers hope will further their understanding of certain illnesses associated with old age, such as neurodegenerative or cardiovascular diseases.

Despite her age, Ms Branyas has no health complications other than hearing and mobility issues and still has a great memory.

“She has a completely lucid head,” scientist Manel Esteller told ABC, a Spanish outlet. “She remembers with impressive clarity episodes of her when she was only four years old, and she does not present any cardiovascular disease, common in elderly people.”

Maria Branyas is the world’s oldest woman (Super Avia Catalana/Twitter)

Mr Esteller, a well-renowned Spanish scientist focusing on genetics and how they apply to health conditions, recently came across Ms Branyas and was curious how her genetic makeup might affect her ageing.

After a long talk with Ms Branyas, Mr Esteller believes there must be more to her longevity than meets the eye.

The remarkable woman has not had an easy life; she survived an earthquake while she was in the US, a major fire, both world wars, the Spanish Civil War, the Spanish Flu pandemic and, more recently, survived COVID-19 in 2020.

Ms Branyas lost her father when she was very young while the family were on a ship from the US to Spain; he died of pulmonary tuberculosis, the Guinness World Record reports.

On top of losing her father, she suffered permanent hearing loss in one ear while on board the ship after falling while playing with her brothers.

Despite the various pandemics, wars and family loss she has endured, her longevity has made scientists questioning what her secret could be.

Maria Branyas, third from the left, with her family in New Orleans in 1911 (Wikipedia)

“We know Maria’s chronological age, 116 years, but we must determine her biological age,” Mr Esteller said to ABC, believing that “she is much younger” physically.

The scientist has taken biological samples of saliva, blood and urine from Ms Branyas, which are thought to be the “longest-lived” biological samples and have great scientific value, Josep Carreras, the head of a leukaemia research institute, said to ABC.

The samples will be compared with the 116-year-old’s middle daughter, who is 79 years old.

Ms Branyas often has been asked what her secret is to her long life, and she uses her X account to post her advice for others.

She attributed her longevity to “order, tranquillity, good connection with family and friends, contact with nature, emotional stability, no worries, no regrets, lots of positivity, and staying away from toxic people”.

However, she also credits a great amount of luck.

“It is clear that there is a genetic component because there are several members of her family who are over 90 years old," Mr Esteller said.

The rare biological samples will assess her genes, which will hopefully advance the research of drugs that could help diseases associated with age and cancer.

As for Ms Branyas, she said on her X account that she is “very happy [she] can be useful for research and progress”.