Gerontology Research Group
Encyclopedia
The Gerontology Research Group (GRG) was started in 1990, and is a global eGroup
of researchers in gerontology
, some of who also meet monthly at UCLA
in Los Angeles, California
. The primary function of the group is to further gerontology research, with the objective of reversing or retarding aging. Its most notable activity, though, is its tracking of supercentenarian
s (people aged at least 110).
The group was co-founded by L. Stephen Coles
who is the Director and Treasurer of the Supercentenarian Research Foundation. The other co-founder was Steven M. Kaye. Editions of the Guinness World Records
through the year 2008 indicate that the Gerontology Research Group is used as its authority for its "World's Oldest Living People" category, which the group verifies using birth and marriage certificates. The New York Times
wrote that the GRG has been recognized as "an authority on the matter" of verifying supercentenarians. The group started as an organization to investigate the limits of life spans in all mammalian species, and around 1998–1999 they started a committee to investigate claims to find out who was the oldest living person
at any point in time. The organization is monitoring approximately 80 people whom they have validated for inclusion in their list of living supercentenarians, mostly females.
EGroups
eGroups.com was an email list management web site. The site allowed users to create their own mailing lists and allowed others to sign up for membership on the list. The web site provided archives of the messages as well as list management functionality. Each group also had a shared calendar, file...
of researchers in gerontology
Gerontology
Gerontology is the study of the social, psychological and biological aspects of aging...
, some of who also meet monthly at UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. The primary function of the group is to further gerontology research, with the objective of reversing or retarding aging. Its most notable activity, though, is its tracking of supercentenarian
Supercentenarian
A supercentenarian is someone who has reached the age of 110 years. This age is achieved by about one in a thousand centenarians....
s (people aged at least 110).
The group was co-founded by L. Stephen Coles
L. Stephen Coles
L. Stephen Coles is the co-founder and the Executive Director of the Gerontology Research Group,; a Visiting Scholar in the computer science department at the University of California, Los Angeles, United States.; and an Assistant Researcher in the Department of Surgery, at the UCLA David Geffen...
who is the Director and Treasurer of the Supercentenarian Research Foundation. The other co-founder was Steven M. Kaye. Editions of the Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
through the year 2008 indicate that the Gerontology Research Group is used as its authority for its "World's Oldest Living People" category, which the group verifies using birth and marriage certificates. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote that the GRG has been recognized as "an authority on the matter" of verifying supercentenarians. The group started as an organization to investigate the limits of life spans in all mammalian species, and around 1998–1999 they started a committee to investigate claims to find out who was the oldest living person
Oldest people
This is a list of tables of the verified oldest people in the world in ordinal rank, such as oldest person or oldest man. In these tables, a supercentenarian is considered 'verified' if his or her claim has been validated by an international body that specifically deals in longevity research, such...
at any point in time. The organization is monitoring approximately 80 people whom they have validated for inclusion in their list of living supercentenarians, mostly females.
See also
- New England Centenarian StudyNew England Centenarian StudyThe New England Centenarian Study is a study of persons aged 100 and over in the Boston area. It is one of the oldest, largest and most prestigious studies in the USA and the world....
- List of the oldest people
- LongevityLongevityThe word "longevity" is sometimes used as a synonym for "life expectancy" in demography or known as "long life", especially when it concerns someone or something lasting longer than expected ....
- Longevity claimsLongevity claimsLongevity claims assert extreme human longevity. Those asserting lifespans of 110 years or more are referred to as supercentenarian. Many have either no official verification or are backed only by partial evidence...
- Longevity mythsLongevity mythsLongevity myths are traditions about long-lived people , either as individuals or groups of people, and practices that have been believed to confer longevity, but for which scientific evidence does not support the ages claimed or the reasons for the claims.The phrase "longevity tradition" may...
- Oldest peopleOldest peopleThis is a list of tables of the verified oldest people in the world in ordinal rank, such as oldest person or oldest man. In these tables, a supercentenarian is considered 'verified' if his or her claim has been validated by an international body that specifically deals in longevity research, such...
- SupercentenarianSupercentenarianA supercentenarian is someone who has reached the age of 110 years. This age is achieved by about one in a thousand centenarians....
- Extreme longevity trackingExtreme longevity trackingExtreme longevity tracking is the tracing and recording of claims of exceptionally long human lives , as a branch of demography. Persons have been noted for tracking 'supercentenarians' for hundreds of years; some included quite famous persons noted in other fields...