In biology class last November, I had to choose an article that was relevant to what we were learning in class and write a topic paper from it. So I went to sciencenews.org and found an article about how DNA could determine how long a person lives. I found it really interesting how a person can be born with the ability to live past the average oldest age, and we were learning about DNA, so it was perfect. Here is an exert of the paper:
"...Genes are responsible for approximately 20-30% of a person’s probability of living to
the age of 85. That percentage, regardless of its minor probability, can still make a difference on
how long you live despite their physical condition. Most of the statistics that establish how long
a person lives is based on their health and lifestyle choices. Studies show that diseases, such as
diabetes (86%), obesity (44%), and high blood pressure (28%), increased a person’s chance of
dying before the age of 90. These are a number of examples of genetic diseases that are known
as multifactorial inheritance disorders."
