Doctors analyze the DNA of a 117-year-old to discover one food that may help people live longer.

She bore witness not only to world history but also to a litany of technological revolutions — from cars and airplanes to satellites and the internet — a span of progress that few individuals have ever seen firsthand.

Yet through all this change, she maintained a grounded life. For decades, Branyas lived in the Santa Maria del Tura nursing home in Olot, a town in the Catalan region of northeastern Spain, surrounded by family, friends, and caregivers.

There she stayed active, mentally engaged, and socially connected — key aspects of her long life that she often credited alongside genetics and lifestyle habits.

A Woman Who Asked to Be Studied

Unlike most people whose lives end quietly and privately, Maria Branyas Morera approached the end of her life with curiosity and generosity

. She understood that her biology might hold insights for science and for others who aspire to long, healthy lives.

Before her death, she explicitly expressed a wish that doctors study her body and biology in depth, hoping that lessons from her physiology could benefit others.

Her request was granted, and an international research effort was undertaken — one of the most comprehensive scientific examinations ever conducted on an individual supercentenarian.

Teams led by experts at the University of Barcelona and the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute analysed her genome, metabolome, microbiome, blood biomarkers, cellular age markers, and more.

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