Natural Sciences Active Updated Jul 27, 2026
SuperAgers keep sharp memory into their 90s, and it isn't genetic
Researchers at the University of Chicago's HAARC Center and TGen compared the genomes of SuperAgers, people who reach their 80s and 90s with memory as sharp as someone decades younger, to cognitively average older adults and found no genetic difference. The stakes are finding what, if not genetics, protects some older adults' memory so the protection might eventually be studied and shared rather than left to chance.
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Jul 27, 2026 Latest
A study of 125 adults aged 71 to 101 in Sardinia's Blue Zone found the region's long-lived residents scored higher on openness, had better coping strategies, and engaged in more frequent hobbies than people living just outside the zone.
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Jul 26, 2026
A University of Chicago HAARC Center and TGen team compared 142 SuperAgers to 89 cognitively average older adults and found the two groups genetically indistinguishable on the APOE gene and three polygenic risk scores, showing SuperAgers' protected memory is not explained by their DNA.
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