From Newsday.com, an update on research into genes associated with longevity: "Having any one of these genes can confer a longer and healthier life. ... He studied 300 Ashkenazi Jews between 95 and 108 years old and their children, many of whom themselves have lived beyond the average life span - 77.6 years. Thirty percent of these families had any one of these three genes, compared with 5 percent of people without a history of longevity." You may recall that two of these genes relate to cholesterol and lipoprotein regulation; the last is involved in inflammation and insulin regulation. These mechanisms appear to be important determinants for the rate at which cellular damage accumulates in the body or the risk of suffering common age-related degenerative conditions.
Link: http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-hsold124173451mar12,0,1226662.story