María Branyas Morera, the oldest person in the world, turned 117 today and scientists hope the Spanish pensioner can help unlock the secrets of a long life.
Morera was born in San Francisco in 1907, while the city was suffering a second wave of the bubonic plague.
The family made the decision to return to Spain in 1915 during World War I after their father Josep fell ill.
He ended up dying of tuberculosis on the ship in which they crossed the Atlantic, and his century-old daughter was injured in a fall during the same trip and later discovered that she had lost hearing in one ear.
It then survived two world wars, the Spanish flu pandemic, the Spanish Civil War and, most recently, Covid-19.
The oldest person in the world María Branyas Morera celebrates her 117th birthday today
Morera married the Catalan doctor Joan Moret at the age of 23 in 1931.
Morera was born in San Francisco in 1907, when the city was suffering a second wave of bubonic plague, but her family made the decision to return to Spain in 1915. Photograph of María from 1925, when she was only 18 years old.
She obtained the official title of oldest person in the world after the death of the French nun Sister André in January 2023.
Unusually for her age, Ms Morera is an active user of social media site X, formerly Twitter, and regularly updates her 16,000 followers on how she is doing.
Today he wrote: ‘Good morning, world. Today I turn 117 years old. I’ve come this far.’
But Maria’s exceptional health at that age has drawn the attention of scientists to study her body.
Scientist Manel Esteller told a Spanish media outlet. ABC: ‘He has a completely clear head.
‘He remembers with impressive clarity events from when he was only four years old and does not have any cardiovascular disease, common in older people.
Pictured with his mother in 1922, when he was 15 years old.
María Branya became the oldest person in the world after the death of French nun Lucile Randon in January 2023.
María when she was 87 years old in 1994 playing the piano.
Maria celebrates her 115th birthday
“It is clear that there is a genetic component because there are several members of his family who are over 90 years old.”
In an effort to help others, Maria agreed to undergo some scientific tests conducted by scientists hoping to learn more about the secrets of a long life.
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 Maria’s genes and help develop drugs that can combat age-related diseases.
María has three children, 11 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. She attributes her old age to ‘order, tranquility’ and ‘getting away from toxic people’.
He has prioritized living a stress-free existence and has lived in sheltered housing in the Catalan town of Olot since he was 92 years old.
He played the piano, read newspapers, and exercised every morning until he was 105.
Maria Branyas became the oldest person to recover from Covid in May 2020
Their nursing home, Residència Santa María del Tura, told the Guinness Book of Records at the time that they would organize a “small celebration behind closed doors” to commemorate the achievement.
After winning the title of world’s oldest person last year, he posted on Twitter: “Sorry for not responding individually.”
‘I am surprised and grateful for the expectation generated by being the oldest living person in the world.
‘Thank you all very much for the interest shown, although I have not done any merit. These days have been very overwhelming.”
He added that he would not respond to further interview requests from journalists, adding that he needed “peace and tranquility.”
But he suffered a health scare in 2020 after becoming infected with Covid-19 just weeks after celebrating his 113th birthday, but recovered within days.
This made her the oldest Covid-19 survivor in the world at the time, but that record was broken by Sister André that same year.
Their nursing home, Residència Santa María del Tura, told the Guinness Book of Records at the time that they would organize a “small celebration behind closed doors” to commemorate the achievement.
In December 2022, Maria shared diet tips and praised the health benefits of a particular food with her army of followers.
He wrote in X: ‘And some advice, if you allow me. In a time in which miracle diets and foods for well-being and health constantly emerge, it is necessary to rescue yogurt, a food for life and with countless positive properties for the body.’
Yogurt is a good source of calcium and protein, which is good for bone and muscle health, according to the NHS. But there is no evidence that eating yogurt helps you live longer.
María has three children, 11 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren, she attributes her old age to ‘order, tranquility’ and ‘getting away from toxic people’
María married the Catalan doctor Joan Moret at the age of 23 in 1931.
The day was eventful, Marero recalled on Twitter, as they waited for hours for the priest who they later learned had died unexpectedly.
She said: ‘There was no telephone. A car had to go down to Girona to find an available chaplain.
“At that time, there must have been about 50 cars in the entire province of Girona.”
Her husband died more than 46 years ago, when he was 71.
She wrote on their anniversary that “I will always carry him in my heart every day.”
In an interview with the Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia in October 2019, he recalled watching television for the first time on December 15, 1960, when King Baudouin of Belgium married the Spanish aristocrat Fabiola de Mora y Aragón.
She also revealed that the bosses at her nursing home had put her on a diet, although she was allowed to have a small piece of cake on her birthday.
In another interview from the same time, in which she admitted that she had “very bad memories” of the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939, María added: “People live differently now than they used to. Money dominates everything. and with it you can get almost everything.’
Maria is considered a “supercentenarian,” a title given to people over the age of 110.
She has seen her parents, three brothers and one of her three children die, as well as her husband, who died when he was 72 years old.
The title of the oldest person who has ever lived belongs to Jeanne Louise Calment, whose life spanned 122 years and 164 days, according to the Guinness Book of Records.