World's oldest woman dies at age 115

From a recent MSNBC news article found here:

"A woman who lived to see five of her great-great grandchildren born and was believed to have been the world's oldest person has died in Portugal at the age of 115, officials said.

Maria de Jesus died Friday morning in an ambulance near the central Portuguese town of Tomar.

She had been listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's oldest person. That title now falls to an American, 114-year-old Gertrude Baines, who lives in a Los Angeles nursing home. "

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"There are now only 82 women and nine men verified as being 110 or older, according to gerontologist Dr. Stephen Coles of the Gerontology Research Group at the University of California, Los Angeles.

But he said there could be hundreds more in places such as China, India or Africa where they would not have caught the attention of the Gerontology Research Group, a small volunteer organization that tracks supercentenarians and verifies their birth dates through birth certificates and other documents. "

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"Coles said the supercentenarians appear to share one trait that might account for their longevity — they come from families whose members are long-lived. "

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Before de Jesus, Edna Parker of Indiana had been the world's oldest living person until she died in late November. She was 115 years, 220 days old.

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Ben Abba's comment to this article:

I believe there is a woman about 150 years living now in India, and 25 men over the age of 200 years living among us right now. Stay tuned for more info on these real supercentarians.