US woman celebrates 115th birthday

MAYBE it was a lifetime of chores on the family farm that accounts for Edna Parker’s long life. Or maybe just good genes explain why the world’s oldest known person turned 115 yesterday, defying staggering odds.

Scientists who study longevity hope Parker and others who live to 110 or beyond — they’re called supercentenarians — can help solve the mystery of extreme longevity.

“We don’t know why she’s lived so long,” said Don Parker, her 59-year-old grandson. “But she’s never been a worrier and she’s always been a thin person, so maybe that has something to do with it.”