The Wall Street Journal
SCIENCE JOURNAL
SEPTEMBER 19, 2008
Secrets of the 'Wellderly'
Scientists Hope to Crack the Genetic Code of Those Who Live the Longest
By ROBERT LEE HOTZ

As the oldest person in the world, Henrikje van Andel-Schipper attributed her
longevity to a slice of pickled herring and a tumbler of orange juice every day.
If pressed, she'd say tartly that 'breathing' also helped prolong life.

When this Dutch dowager died in 2005 at age 115, researchers discovered that she
had almost none of the chronic physical or mental ailments associated with
aging, according to a postmortem medical assessment published last month in the
journal Neurobiology of Aging. She supported herself until she was 105. Up to
her death, she was more alert and engaged than people half her age, cognitive
testing showed. Indeed, when the anatomists actually counted her neurons, they
discovered she had the brain of a woman 50 years younger.

David McLain
Charles Yogi, 89, a track & field athlete, is part of the Hawaii Lifespan Study.