An ambitious plan to sequence 100 genes in 1,000 healthy old people could shed light on genetic variations that insulate some people from the ailments of aging, including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, allowing them to live a healthy life into their eighties and beyond.

Eric Topol, a cardiologist and head of the Genomic Medicine Program at the Scripps Translational Science Institute, is leading the project.

Researchers are collecting blood samples from 1,000 people age 80 or older who have never suffered any serious illnesses and do not take medication. They plan to sequence 100 genes, known from animal research and other studies to influence health and aging, especially major housekeeping, master-control genes like those involved in DNA repair or insulin growth factor-1, a protein hormone involved in cell growth.