Iñaki Martín-Subero

Maria Branyas was considered the oldest person in the world when she died in 2024 at the age of 117. An international team led by the Cancer Epigenetics group at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute and the University of Barcelona has analysed her molecular profile, including her genome, metabolome, microbiome and epigenome. "Our results have helped us identify factors that could help many older people live longer, healthier lives," say the researchers, whose work is published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine.

A technique developed under the coordination of researchers from the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) and the Institute for Biomedical Research (IRB) in Barcelona has made it possible to track methylation patterns or “barcodes” in blood cells and construct their epigenetic family tree. This has enabled them to trace their evolution and changes with age, which could be useful for disease prevention and for the study or even development of specific therapies against ageing. The results are published in the journal Nature.