DNA From 102-Year-Old Tiverton Man May Reveal Secrets to a Long Life [VIDEO]

A centenarian living in Tiverton sends several viles of his blood soon to a company that will essentially tap into his secrets, or technically, his rare genes, that allow him to continue living a healthy life.

Saul Belson, 102, sat in his room this week at Sakonnet Bay Manor and talked about how he never really smoke or drank, and hopes his genes can contribute something beneficial to science. A former dental technician from Chicago who also designed dentures for dental facelifts, claims he was one of the pioneers to work with stainless steel after dentists evolved from using gold partial plates.

Belson, along with 99 other centenarians around the country, are sending their DNA to the Medco "100 Over 100" competition for Archon Genomics X Prize, located in Los Angeles, CA. Once the DNA and human genome data is properly stored, teams will rapidly compete to identify the rare genes that are key to Belson's longevity. Belson said he found out about the competition from a friend and wanted to get involved.

The DNA could also, potentially, help create a medical genome to help physicians be proactive instead of reactive in treating diseases. The first science team to effectively sequence 100 human genomes will win a $10 million prize for the competition.

Grant Campany, senior director and prize lead at Archon, said in a phone interview this week that each centenarian volunteering is screened by a physician at Boston University and performs the consent process before they actually sign on. Then, a certified phlebotomist visits the centenarian to extract the blood. Campany said the packaged samples are then sent to the Coriell Institute for Medical Research in New Jersey.

"This is an organization that manages blood samples and cell lines from around the world," he said. "It's basically a repository."

He said they will take the blood and grow the cells and, essentially, grow DNA in th bacteria cells. When the results are ready, the competition then begins.

"Teams get 100 viles of this DNA and they will sequence these genomes, say, within a 30-day period," Campany said. "Then, contestant data is scored using software we created, and then put into a public database and become available for researchers all over the world."

The whole process will approximately take nine months, Campany said.

"Scientists around the world will have access to this free data," he said, noting the robust lives of the centenarians will hopefully provide some rare genes. "It's to identify the things not known. You can only do that when you only have a really rich set of data. What's unique about this group of data, these people have lived over 100 years and evaded disease."

Campany said using that information combined with their data will enable the scientists to hone into areas of the human genome that "are likely" protective in nature. Using Parkinson's Diseases as an example, there could be areas in the genome consistent with people who don't have that disease, and through studying the protective markers in those genomes against that disease, could lead to developing a drug that could "potentially" turn off and treat specific genetic predispositions.

"What do these people possess that other's don't?" Campany asked. "There could be diagnostics looking for specific characteristics common in Parkinson's patients to make problematic predictions in Parkinson's. So, as the data compiles, you're able to manage your health in a proactive way than reacting, when it may be too late. And that's what we're moving toward, more predictable uses of technology for a medical revolution."

Campany said they are looking for more centenarians for the study. Visit their website for more information.