Erlandson Etun (1659–1770), both residents of Valdres, Oppland. In 1902, Margaret Ann Neve, born in 1792, became the first verified female supercentenarian. Jeanne Calment of France, who died in 1997 aged 122 years, 164 days, had the longest human lifespan documented. The oldest man ever verified is Jiroemon Kimura of Japan, who died in 2013 aged 116 years and 54 days. Maria Branyas (born 4 March 1907) of Spain is the world's oldest living person, aged . Juan Vicente Pérez (born 27 May 1909) is the world's oldest living man, aged . Research into centenarians Research into centenarians helps scientists understand how an ordinary person might live longer. Organisations that research centenarians and supercentenarians include the GRG and the Supercentenarian Research Foundation. In May 2021, whole-genome sequencing analysis of 81 Italian semi-supercentenarians and supercentenarians were published, along with 36 control group people from the same region who were simply of advanced age. Morbidity Research on the morbidity of supercentenarians has found that they remain free of major age-related diseases (e.g., stroke, cardiovascular disease, dementia, cancer, Parkinson's disease, and diabetes) until the very end of life when they die of exhaustion of organ reserve, which is the ability to return organ function to homeostasis. About 10% of supercentenarians survive until the last three months of life without major age-related diseases, as compared to only 4% of semi-supercentenarians and 3% of centenarians. By measuring the biological age of various tissues from supercentenarians, researchers may be able to identify the nature of those that are protected from ageing effects. According to a study of 30 different body parts from a 112-year-old female supercentenarian, along with younger controls, the cerebellum is protected from ageing, according to an epigenetic biomarker of tissue age known as the epigenetic clock—the reading is about 15 years younger than expected in a centenarian. These findings could explain why the cerebellum exhibits fewer neuropathological hallmarks of age-related dementia as compared to other brain regions. A 2021 genomic study identified genetic characteristics that protect against age-related diseases, particularly variants that improve DNA repair. Five variants were found to be significant, affecting STK17A (increased expression) and COA1 (reduced expression) genes. Supercentenarians also had an unexpectedly low level of somatic mutations. See also List of supercentenarians References External links Gerontology Research Group International Database on Longevity Supercentenarian Research Foundation New England Supercentenarian Study European Supercentenarian Organisation Senescence