Researchers believed for decades that genetics influenced only a small part of people's lifespan and that lifestyle was what mattered most, but a new study from the Weizmann Institute in Israel turned this idea upside down and showed that DNA plays a much larger role than anyone imagined in determining who lives longer and who dies sooner.

Researchers believed for decades that genetics influenced only a small part of people’s lifespan and that lifestyle was what mattered most, but a new study from the Weizmann Institute in Israel turned this idea upside down and showed that DNA plays a much larger role than anyone imagined in determining who lives longer and who dies sooner.

Written by Bruno Teles

Published on 14/04/2026 at 16:02

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A study from the Weizmann Institute published in Science revealed that genetics may be responsible for about 50% of the variation in human life expectancy, at least twice the 20 to 25% estimated for decades, after analyzing databases of twins from Sweden and Denmark including twins raised apart.

For many years, science treated genetics as a minor player in determining how long each person lives. Previous estimates suggested that hereditary factors explained between 20% and 25% of the differences in life expectancy, and some large studies even pointed to less than 10%. But a study published in Science in April 2026 by researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel challenges this view and reveals that genetics may account for approximately half of the variation in human longevity, which represents at least double what was believed until now.

According to ScienceDaily, the discovery changes the way scientists, doctors, and the general public think about aging. “For many years, life expectancy was primarily attributed to non-genetic factors, fueling skepticism about the hereditary determinants of longevity,” explained Ben Shenhar, a researcher in Professor Uri Alon’s lab at the Weizmann Institute. If genetics weighs as much as lifestyle in the longevity equation, the search for specific genes that influence lifespan gains an urgency that it did not have when it was believed that DNA was secondary.

Why science underestimated the role of genetics in life expectancy for decades

Weizmann Institute study revealed that genetics explains ~50% of life expectancy, double what was estimated. Analysis used data from twins raised apart.

The error in previous estimates was not due to incompetence, but to methodological limitations. Older studies on genetics and longevity failed to separate hereditary influences from a factor that scientists call extrinsic mortality: accidents, infections, and environmental events that shorten life regardless of genes.

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How the Weizmann Institute Discovered That Genetics Matters Much More Than Previously Thought

The team led by Ben Shenhar analyzed three extensive databases of twins from Sweden and Denmark. For the first time in this type of research, scientists included data from twins who were raised separately, which allowed for a more precise separation of genetic influences from shared environmental influences.

Identical twins raised in different families share the same genes but not the same environment, making their data extremely valuable for this type of analysis.

To solve the problem of extrinsic mortality, the team created an unprecedented analytical approach. They used mathematical models combined with simulations of virtual twins to distinguish deaths caused by biological aging from those triggered by external factors.

By filtering these influences, the signal of genetics emerged strongly: about 50% of the variation in life expectancy is determined by DNA, a number consistent with what is observed in other complex human traits and in studies with laboratory animals.

What the Numbers Reveal About Genetics, Aging, and Disease Risk

The discovery is not limited to a general number of 50%. The study identified that up to the age of 80, the risk of death from dementia has a heritability of about 70%, much higher than that of cancer or heart disease.

This means that genetics has a particularly large weight in neurodegenerative conditions, where family history can be a more powerful predictor than lifestyle.

For cancer and heart disease, genetics also weighs more than previous estimates suggested, but to a lesser extent than for dementia.

These data reinforce the idea that different aging diseases have different degrees of genetic determination, and that a personalized prevention approach would need to take into account each person’s individual genetic profile. Lifestyle still matters, but genetics is not the supporting actor that science has described for decades.

What changes in medicine and research on aging with this new view of genetics

If genetics determines half of the variation in longevity, the search for specific genetic variants that prolong life gains a much stronger scientific justification.

“If heritability is high, as we have shown, this creates an incentive to seek variants that prolong life, in order to understand the biology of aging and potentially address it therapeutically,” said Shenhar. The idea that aging can be treated as a genetic problem, rather than just a consequence of lifestyle, gains support with this study.

For personalized medicine, the discovery means that genetic tests could, in the future, offer more accurate predictions about longevity risks and aging diseases.

Knowing that genetics weighs about 50% changes the calculation for researchers who previously hesitated to invest in the search for longevity genes because the estimates of 20-25% made the return uncertain. With the new estimate, the genetics of aging becomes a field with real therapeutic potential and not just academic.

What the study does not say and what lifestyle continues to determine

The discovery that genetics weighs 50% does not mean that lifestyle is irrelevant. The other 50% continues to be influenced by diet, exercise, environment, access to health care, and daily choices, which means that half of the fate of longevity is still in each person’s hands.

Those with favorable genes but who live carelessly may waste their genetic advantage. Those with unfavorable genetic predispositions may partially compensate with healthy habits.

The study also does not identify which specific genes influence longevity, it only demonstrates that the total weight of genetics is much greater than previously estimated. The next step in the research will be to map the genetic variants responsible for this influence, a task that may take years but now has a solid statistical basis to advance.

Genetics and lifestyle do not compete with each other. They operate together, and understanding the real weight of each is the first step towards evidence-based longevity strategies.

What surprises you more: discovering that genetics accounts for 50% of life expectancy or that science has underestimated this number for decades? Do you think knowing your genetic profile would change your lifestyle choices? Share in the comments. Studies that change what science has believed for entire generations deserve debate, and this one touches on something that interests everyone: how long we will live.

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A study from the Weizmann Institute published in Science revealed that genetics may be responsible for about 50% of the variation in human life expectancy, at least twice the 20 to 25% estimated for decades, after analyzing databases of twins from Sweden and Denmark including twins raised apart.

Why science underestimated the role of genetics in life expectancy for decades

How the Weizmann Institute Discovered That Genetics Matters Much More Than Previously Thought

What the Numbers Reveal About Genetics, Aging, and Disease Risk

What changes in medicine and research on aging with this new view of genetics

What the study does not say and what lifestyle continues to determine

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A study from the Weizmann Institute published in Science revealed that genetics may be responsible for about 50% of the variation in human life expectancy, at least twice the 20 to 25% estimated for decades, after analyzing databases of twins from Sweden and Denmark including twins raised apart.

Why science underestimated the role of genetics in life expectancy for decades

How the Weizmann Institute Discovered That Genetics Matters Much More Than Previously Thought

What the Numbers Reveal About Genetics, Aging, and Disease Risk

What changes in medicine and research on aging with this new view of genetics

What the study does not say and what lifestyle continues to determine

Scientists enter a narrow, flooded cave 500 meters deep and find giant dinosaur footprints on the ceiling measuring up to 1.25 meters, preserved in such a rare way that a new type of trace had to be created.

A giant half-ton ring fell in Kenya from space, and more than a year later, scientists still do not know where it came from.

In Botswana, a salt flat of up to 16,000 km² that was once an African megalake spends months as an absolute white desert, but during the rainy season it transforms into a shallow sea that reappears from nowhere and can be seen from space in the middle of southern Africa.

Seen from space, an image taken by an astronaut shows an unlikely oasis in the Saudi Arabian desert, protected by a terrain that slows the advance of sand, surrounded by green circles, remnants of an extinct lake and nearly 10,000 years of preserved history.

Bavarian archaeologists unearthed a medieval skeleton that had an articulated iron hand in place of its left arm, and the discovery reveals that doctors were already creating sophisticated prosthetics over 500 years ago.

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