Living 150 Years

A few days ago, at a meeting between the leaders of China and Russia, a microphone caught a conversation between them discussing the possibility of living up to 150 years thanks to advances in science and medicine. In a subsequent press conference, Vladimir Putin noted that “modern methods of improving health, including various organ replacement surgeries, allow humanity to believe that life expectancy could increase significantly.”

This introduction serves as a reflection on the topic of aspiring to live longer; that's why I was struck by the announcement of a publication in the scientific journal Cell Reports Medicine about a genetic study on longevity analyzing certain conditions of María Branyas, who died at 107 in 2023, becoming the oldest person on the planet.

During the last years of her life and until just before her death in August last year, a group of scientists took several samples and the newly published results show some keys to her longevity. The study was led by Manel Esteller, head of the Cancer Epigenetics group at the Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute, with the participation of about forty scientists. The results suggest very interesting clues, despite the limitation that the study was conducted on just one person (more observations would be necessary). It is notable and commendable that María volunteered to participate in the study with the idea of shedding light on science.

I want to focus on the fact that genomic studies are uncovering knowledge about human life that suggest a real revolution in medicine, capable of providing keys to apply personalized medicine in daily clinical practice. In many countries around us, and now also in ours, the application of knowledge derived from the decoding of the human genome already has concrete results.

One of the most relevant issues refers to the ability to detect pathologies early with precision, thus opening possibilities for applying measures linked to healthy lifestyles and making available the most effective therapies for each case. All this entails the need to commit to public research policies in genomics, one of the lines of study that can provide the most clarity for precision medicine and preventive medicine. Also, within the framework of these necessary public policies, the continual training of healthcare professionals is key, to ensure that knowledge about scientific advances is accessible in clinical practice.

Finally, there is a task that falls to the health authorities: to ensure that validated scientific advances are part of the public health service portfolio, guaranteeing equitable access and defining these advancements as a universal right for the entire population. Something extremely important. If it is with quality of life, maybe it is worth living up to 150 years.