Curious about how Dick Van Dyke has managed to live to the ripe age of 100? Recent discoveries in ancient DNA might shed some light on the matter.
The iconic actor celebrated this milestone on December 13 and during promotions for his latest book, 100 Rules for Living to 100, he shared insights into his longevity.
While maintaining a balanced diet and regular physical activity are known to enhance life expectancy, scientists have discovered there’s more to achieving a century of life.
Though previous research has highlighted the role of ‘good genes’ from one’s ancestors in promoting a healthy life, recent studies aimed to explore further.
A study featured in the journal GeroScience analyzed the genomes of 333 centenarians alongside 690 healthy middle-aged adults.
Italy, known for its high number of centenarians, provided a focal point for this research as scientists compared the DNA of nearly 1,000 participants to ancient genomes from four groups representing Italy in 2025.
The study included ancient populations from the Iranian and Caucasus regions, Anatolian Neolithic farmers, and Bronze Age nomadic groups.
The Western Hunter-Gatherers (WHG), descendants of post-Ice Age European inhabitants, showed a significant impact on reaching the age of 100.
“The present study shows for the first time that the WHG lineage… contributes to longevity in the Italian population,” researchers noted.
An increase in hunter-gatherer DNA was linked to a 38 percent rise in the likelihood of reaching 100 years.
Furthermore, women possessing this DNA type were found to be more than twice as likely as men to become centenarians.
Researchers concluded: “We propose that the variants involved in this trait [longevity] may have been introduced into the Italian gene pool at a very ancient time.
“We showed a greater contribution from Western Hunter-Gatherer-related ancestry to Italian centenarians, thus suggesting that this pre-Neolithic genetic component, which has been linked to population shifts occurring within Europe after the Last Glacial Maximum, could be beneficial for longevity today.”
Additionally, some of these longevity-associated genes may enhance metabolic efficiency, allowing for better food processing.
Future studies are likely to delve further into this fascinating correlation between ancient genetics and longevity.