If you live to be 100, there is a good chance you have a particular set of genetic variants.

That is what researchers from Boston University learned in a recent study. Analyzing the genomes of more than 1,000 centenarians, they identified 150 genetic variants that were associated with extreme longevity. Looking at a different sample of centenarians, more than three-quarters of this group possessed many of these 150 variants. The others had few or none of these variants, indicating there are other variants to find, the lead scientist said, The New York Times reported.

The Boston University team found the genetic variants with a statistical technique called a genome-wide association study. Such findings eventually may lead to a test for longevity. Findings appear in a recent issue of Science.