Public Health Minute: The Genetics of Exceptional Longevity | The Longevity Revolution

While environment and family history are factors in healthy aging, genetic variants play a critical and complex role in conferring exceptional longevity, according to a new study by a team of researchers from the Boston University Schools of Public Health and Medicine and the Boston Medical Center. In a study released July 1 online by the journal Science, the research team identified a group of genetic variants that can predict exceptional longevity in humans with 77 percent accuracy -- a breakthrough in understanding the role of genes in determining human lifespan. Listen to Paola Sebastiani, professor of biostatistics at BU School of Public Health, and Thomas Perls, associate professor of medicine at the BU School of Medicine and a geriatrician at Boston Medical Center, talk about their research. To learn more about the study "Genetic Signatures of Exceptional Longevity in Humans," visit http://sph.bu.edu/longevity.