One longevity gene, present in 24% of these centenarians (including Tauber), compared with 8% among younger people, may help stave off cardiovascular disease by making the body more efficient at removing cholesterol.

FORBES: Researchers are unlocking the mysteries of aging.

And given that there is no evidence that, for example, the proportion of Japanese carrying the mitochondrial longevity gene has increased recently, changing circumstances are a more likely explanation for the dramatic increase in the numbers of the oldest old in the past 50 years.

ECONOMIST: Centenarians

He says a longevity-gene drug, shielding patients simultaneously from mental deterioration, heart disease and stroke, could be ready in less than a decade.

FORBES: Researchers are unlocking the mysteries of aging.