Quote:
Originally Posted by ilovetv
"exceptionally old individuals are carriers of multiple genetic variants that influence their remarkable survival"
VARIANTS is the operative word, even with identical twins!
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Are you suggesting that a set of identical twins, such as the 92 year olds I used as an example, don't have the same variants? The "New England Centenarian Study" you linked to didn't say that. The twins I mentioned were identical and yet had different health outcomes and will likely have different longevity outcomes.
In your "New England Centenarian Study" link, read the fourth paragraph from the bottom. It states: "....its limitations confirm that environmental factors (e.g., lifestyle) also contribute in important ways to the ability of humans to survive to very old ages."
They also referred to the study as "preliminary". I think, if anything, it's likely that they underestimated the role of environment/lifestyle. Your statement above says that genetic variants "influence" survival. That's different than saying they predict survival.