World’s oldest person Maria Branyas Morera turns 117: Scientists hope Spanish pensioner can help unlock the secrets of a long life

The world’s oldest person, Maria Branyas Morera, turned 117 today, and scientists hope the Spanish retiree can help unlock the secrets of longevity.

Ms. Morera was born in San Francisco in 1907, as the city was suffering a second wave of the bubonic plague.

The family decided to return to Spain in 1915 during the First World War, after her father Josep became ill.

He eventually died of tuberculosis on the ship they crossed the Atlantic on, with his now centenarian daughter injuring herself in a fall on the same journey and later discovering she had lost her hearing in one ear.

She subsequently survived two world wars, the Spanish flu pandemic, the Spanish Civil War and most recently Covid-19.

She was given the official title of the world’s oldest person after the death of French nun Sister André in January 2023.

Unusually for her age, Ms Morera is an active user of social media site X, formerly Twitter, giving her 16,000 followers regular updates on how she is doing.

Today she wrote: ‘Good morning world. Today I turn 117 years old. I’ve come this far.’

But Ms. Morera’s exceptional health at this age has attracted the attention of scientists to study her body.

Scientist Manel Esteller told the Spanish news outlet ABC: ‘She has a completely clear head.

‘She remembers events from when she was just four years old with impressive clarity, and she shows no signs of cardiovascular disease, which is common in older people.

‘It is clear there is a genetic component as there are several members of her family who are over 90 years old.’

In an effort to help others, Ms. Morera has agreed to undergo a series of scientific tests by scientists hoping to learn more about the secrets of longevity.

They have already collected samples of her saliva, blood and urine and will compare them with those of her 80-year-old daughter.

The samples will allow scientists to study Ms. Morera’s genes and help develop drugs that can combat age-related diseases.

Ms. Morera has three children, 11 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren and attributes her old age to “order, peace” and “staying away from toxic people.”

She has prioritized a stress-free existence and has lived in sheltered housing in the Catalan town of Olot since the age of 92.

She played the piano, read newspapers and exercised every morning until she was 105.

After winning the title of oldest person in the world last year, she posted on Twitter: ‘Sorry I didn’t respond individually.

“I am surprised and grateful for the anticipation created by the fact that I am the oldest living person in the world.

‘Thank you very much to everyone for the interest shown, even though I have not proven any merit. These days have been very overwhelming.”

She added that she would no longer respond to journalists’ requests for interviews, adding that she needed “peace and tranquility.”

But in 2020, she suffered a health crisis after being infected with Covid-19 just weeks after celebrating her 113th birthday – but recovered within days.

It made her the world’s oldest Covid-19 survivor at the time, but that record was broken by Sister André later that year.

Her nursing home Residència Santa María del Tura told the Guinness Book of World Records at the time that they would organize a “small celebration behind closed doors” to commemorate the achievement.

In December 2022, Ms. Morera shared tips on nutrition and touted the health benefits of a particular food to her army of followers.

She wrote on At a time when diets and miracle foods for well-being and health are constantly on the rise, it is necessary to save yogurt, a lifelong food with an infinite number of positive properties for the body.’

Yogurt is a good source of calcium and protein, which the NHS says is good for bone and muscle health. But there is no evidence that eating yogurt helps you live longer.

Mrs. Morera married Catalan doctor Joan Moret in 1931 at the age of 23.

It was an eventful day, Marero recalled on Twitter, as they waited for hours for the priest who they later discovered had died unexpectedly.

She said: ‘There was no telephone. A car had to drive to Girona to look for an available chaplain.

‘At that time there must have been about fifty cars in the entire province of Girona.’

Her husband died more than 46 years ago at the age of 71.

She wrote on his anniversary that she will “always carry him in my heart every day”

In an interview with Catalan daily La Vanguardia in October 2019, she recalled watching TV for the first time on December 15, 1960, when King Baudouin of Belgium married Spanish aristocrat Fabiola de Mora en Aragon.

She also revealed that bosses at her care home had put her on a diet, although they let her eat a small piece of cake on her birthday.

In another interview around the same time, in which she admitted she had “very bad memories” of the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939, Ms. Morera added: “People live differently now than they used to. Money dominates everything and with money you can get almost anything.’

Ms. Morera is considered a “supercentenarian” – a title given to people once they pass 110.

She saw her parents, three siblings and one of her three children die, as well as her husband who died when he was 72.

The title of the oldest person to ever live belongs to Jeanne Louise Calment, whose life spanned 122 years and 164 days, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.