Earlier this year, María Brañas Morera celebrated her 117th birthday. (Image credit: Arxiu de la família Brañas Morera, (CC0 1.0 UNIVERSAL Deed), via Wikimedia Commons)
Maria Brañas Morera, the oldest person on the planet, has passed away. She was 117 years old.
The supercentenarian, born in San Francisco on March 4, 1907, died “peacefully in her sleep” in Olot, Spain, her family announced on their X account on Tuesday (August 20). Her passing occurred on Monday (August 19), a nursing home employee told The New York Times.
Morera has spent the last 20 years in the Residencia Santa Maria del Tura nursing home. In recent years, she told her family that she was beginning to feel weak and knew her time was coming to an end.
In the translated message, she noted: “One day I will leave this place. I will no longer drink coffee, eat yogurt, pet my dog. I will also leave my memories, my thoughts, and cease to exist in this body. One day, I do not know when, but it is very close, this long journey will end.”
In 2023, the Guinness Book of World Records officially confirmed Morera as the oldest person in the world. She received this title after the death of Lucille Racon, also known as Sister Andre, who died at the age of 118 on January 17, 2023.
Morera's longevity has attracted the attention of the scientific community. Researchers studying her genetics and lifestyle have found that not only does she have low levels of fat and sugar in her blood, but her cells also age more slowly than the average person, The New York Times reports.
According to the American Gerontology Group, the oldest person on Earth is currently considered to be 116-year-old Tomiko Itooka, born in Japan on May 23, 1908.
Jennifer NalewickiSocial Links NavigationJournalist
Jennifer Nalewicki is a former Live Science staff writer and Salt Lake City-based journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Smithsonian Magazine, Scientific American, Popular Mechanics, and elsewhere. She covers a variety of science topics, from planet Earth to paleontology and archaeology, from health to culture. Before going freelance, Jennifer was an editor at Time Inc. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin.
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