They're 100 and counting

Century mark no big deal for these 'super seniors'

By Ozzie Roberts
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
2:00 a.m. August 10, 2009

Trackers pursue secret of long life

They find their subjects in little towns in the outback of Italy and Japan or in big metropolises like Los Angeles and New York.

They cull every kind of public information source throughout the world, from newspapers to voter registration records. They talk to relatives, friends and neighbors of the person they've targeted.

If someone is approaching 110 or older, the army of trackers for the Gerontology Research Group in Los Angeles – the recognized authority on the oldest people living – will find him or her.
They are good at what they do. The folks with Guinness World Records use the research group as a source.

“Our purpose is to study what makes people live so long,â€