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Why Some Women Age Better Than Others

BOSTON (CBS) - Why is it that some women never seem to age while the rest of us develop wrinkles, saggy skin and age spots?

To find out why, Olay, 23andMe, and Harvard researchers looked at 231 women in their 20s through their 70s from different ethnic groups using 3D imaging, hormone mapping, and genetics.

They found that women who appear ageless have in common a set of 2,000 genes that help protect their skin against free radicals, sunlight and other damaging environmental factors.

These genes are sometimes called Methuselah genes after a man in the bible who reportedly lived to be 969 years old.

About 20% of African American women express these genes but only 10% of white women.

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