People who live past age 100, and especially those who reach 110 or beyond, appear to carry a striking abundance of rare, cancer-fighting immune cells in their blood, according to new research that offers a possible clue into how so-called supercentenarians manage to avoid the illnesses that typically claim most people decades earlier.

The findings, published in the journal Cell Reports through Cell Press, focus on a rare category of T helper cells that appears to proliferate significantly as people age past roughly 100 years old, expanding and adapting over time in ways researchers say reflect an active, evolving immune response rather than simple biological decline.

The human immune system relies on T helper cells, also known as CD4 cells, as a core component of adaptive immunity. Among the many subtypes of CD4 cells, a particularly rare variant known as cytotoxic CD4 T cells, or CD4 CTLs, typically occurs only infrequently in the human body. Unlike most helper cells, which coordinate immune responses, CD4 CTLs function more like dedicated killers, patrolling the body to identify and destroy infected, damaged or cancerous cells before they can cause further harm.

According to the study, these normally scarce CD4 CTLs become increasingly common as people age into their 90s and beyond, with the effect growing even more pronounced among centenarians and supercentenarians specifically. Researchers analyzed blood samples from 28 Japanese participants across different age brackets, a group the study’s authors acknowledge represents a small sample size drawn from a single country and therefore may not necessarily be representative of the broader global population.

Among eight participants in their 70s, 80s and 90s, the median proportion of CD4 CTLs in their blood samples measured 4%. That figure rose sharply among the study’s 10 centenarian participants, where the median proportion reached 9.6%. Among supercentenarians specifically, individuals who have lived past 110, the median proportion climbed even further, to 17.6%. Notably, even within this small sample, researchers identified at least one outlier: a participant who had not yet turned 100 but nonetheless showed the highest proportion of these cells recorded anywhere in the study. Researchers also noted that the CD4 CTLs identified in older participants showed no signs of cellular exhaustion, remaining biologically active despite the advanced age of the individuals carrying them.

Kosuke Hashimoto, an immunologist at the University of Osaka in Japan and one of the study’s researchers, said the findings challenge a common assumption about how the immune system changes with age. “Immune aging is not simply a process of decline,” Hashimoto said. “The selective expansion of certain T cells suggests that, even in extreme old age, the immune system may continue to adapt to age-related challenges.”

To better understand how these cells develop, the research team examined specific proteins present on the surface of the cells. They found that CD4 CTLs appear to emerge through a process in which helper cells sequentially lose two particular surface proteins, first CD27 and later CD28, a transformation that effectively converts the cells from their original helper function into their rarer, cytotoxic killer form.

The researchers also observed a hallmark of active immune defense within the samples: clonal expansion, a process in which killer T cells replicate themselves in response to a perceived threat, effectively building a targeted immune “army” against a specific antigen. According to the study’s findings, roughly 33% of the CD4 CTLs identified in older participants’ blood were, on average, clones descended from a single original cell. In one particularly striking centenarian sample, researchers found that approximately half of that individual’s total CD4 CTL population consisted of copies derived from the very same original cell.

The study’s authors interpret this pattern as evidence that the human body faces a growing burden of immune threats as it ages, and that an expanding population of CD4 CTLs may be helping certain individuals, at least among the Japanese supercentenarians studied, successfully manage those threats well beyond the age at which most people succumb to illness. Describing the underlying immune activity captured in the research, the study’s authors wrote that “these cells exhibit stepwise differentiation and cytokine plasticity, suggesting adaptive responses to persistent antigens during healthy aging.”

Hashimoto connected the broader biological backdrop driving this immune adaptation to the natural accumulation of cellular abnormalities that occurs with advancing age. “As we age, abnormal cells, including senescent and cancerous cells, become more common,” Hashimoto said. “Our findings suggest that immune adaptation to these changes may contribute to exceptional longevity.”

The new findings add to a growing body of research examining the biological underpinnings of extreme human longevity, an area of study that has drawn increasing scientific attention as global populations of centenarians and supercentenarians, though still exceedingly rare, have continued to grow in recent decades. Related research has previously identified other biological markers associated with slower aging among centenarians, including a set of 37 distinct proteins found in the blood of long-lived individuals that researchers have linked to a slower overall pace of biological aging, according to prior coverage of separate longevity research.

Given the modest size and geographic limitation of the current study’s sample, the researchers have cautioned that further work involving larger and more diverse populations will likely be necessary to confirm whether the abundance of CD4 CTLs observed among Japanese supercentenarians represents a broader, universal biological feature of extreme human longevity, or whether it may instead reflect genetic, environmental or lifestyle factors more specific to the population studied. Even so, the findings offer researchers a promising new avenue for understanding how, at a cellular level, a small subset of humans manage to avoid succumbing to cancer and other age-related illnesses well beyond the point at which most people’s immune systems begin to falter.

JONESBORO, ARK. — Contract manufacturer SANY Nutrition Group has opened a food production plant in Jonesboro that will turn out a range of better-for-you and comfort snacks and other products for the private label and branded channels in North America.

In a more than $30 million investment, SANY Nutrition acquired and remodeled the former Butterball manufacturing plant in Jonesboro, according to the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC). Operations at the facility, which can make up to 400 million bars and bites annually, are underway. The site is expected to create over 150 new jobs in three years.

SANY Nutrition’s manufacturing capabilities cover six product categories: better-for-you snacks (high protein, reduced sugar, functional, plant-based and nutritionally balanced); sports nutrition (performance bars/bites and functional snacks to support energy, endurance, recovery and active living); indulgence-focused comfort snacks (with rich textures, layered fillings, chocolate coatings and bold flavors); frozen plant-based snacks (made with real fruit and vegetables such as pumpkin, beetroot and sweet potato and then protein-enriched and coated in sugar-free chocolate); baked foods and pastries (sweet, savory, better-for-you and functional bakery products, from cinnamon rolls and filled pastries to protein-rich, individually wrapped items); and pet nutrition (treats and functional snacks formulated to meet the needs of pets).

The Jonesboro plant also can produce a range of food ingredients, inclusions, fillings, coatings, bases and semi-finished solutions for food manufacturers, retailers, foodservice operators and brand partners, the AEDC said.

The Jonesboro facility has the capacity to produce up to 400 million bars and bites annually.

| Photo: SANY Nutrition Group

“SANY Nutrition Group is an innovative protein snack manufacturing company that combines the speed and fearless mindset of a startup with the technology, expertise and scale of a global organization,” said Angela Pernsteiner, an investor in Jonesboro-based SANY Nutrition. “Through tailor-made formulation, premium ingredients, state-of-the-art equipment and European-American process excellence, we transform bold ideas into distinctive, shelf-ready products — in weeks, not years.”

With the Jonesboro facility, SANY Nutrition also brings an integrated platform that encompasses consumer insight, concept development, formulation, design, regulatory support, advanced manufacturing, shelf-ready packaging, warehousing and distribution, the AEDC added.

“SANY Nutrition Group is choosing to invest its capital to grow in Jonesboro, Ark., building a new manufacturing facility and creating 150 new jobs,” said Clint O’Neal, executive director of the AEDC. “Jonesboro has become a food manufacturing hub thanks to its abundant natural resources, low costs, and the strategic vision of its leadership. This has led to investments from companies like SANY.” 

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Mortgage rates fell for the second week in a row, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday.

Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, showed the average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 6.65% from last week’s reading of 6.67%. 

The average rate on a 30-year loan was 6.58% a year ago.

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“With a dip in rates providing modest relief for homebuyers, it’s important to remember borrowers can potentially save thousands by shopping around for the best mortgage rate,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

A real estate agent sets up for an open house in Rancho Cucamonga, California, on May 9, 2026. (Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The average rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 5.95% from last week’s reading of 5.96%.

Mortgage rates are affected by several factors, including the Federal Reserve and geopolitics. Though mortgage rates are not directly affected by the Fed’s interest rate decisions, they closely track the 10-year Treasury yield. The 10-year yield hovered around 4.7% as of Thursday afternoon.

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“Today’s print is best understood as the base level from which mortgage rates may push higher next week amid market volatility,” said Realtor.com senior economist Jake Krimmel. “The 30-year Treasury hit a nearly 20-year high this week, enough to prompt the Treasury Department to step in and buy back billions. But thankfully for homebuyers, since most mortgages are only around for seven to ten years before borrowers refinance or move, mortgage rates track the 10-year, which has not moved nearly as dramatically this week.”

Yields on U.S. Treasurys have been elevated recently, in part due to the growth in debt, with the federal government projected to run a roughly $2.1 trillion budget deficit this fiscal year, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

Two recent Treasury auctions in the last week drew attention due to the yields reaching historic levels – the sale of 10-year notes cleared at a high of 4.683%, the highest in 19 years, while the 30-year bond auction stopped at 5.216%, a 25-year peak.

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Sales at the US retail giant Walmart grew at their slowest pace for more than six years in the most recent quarter, suggesting American shoppers are under strain.

Walmart, which due to its size is well-placed to gauge consumers’ mood, blamed the rising price of fuel.

Sales at comparable sites across the chain were up by 2.6%, excluding fuel, between May and July the company said.

Walmart said it would use up to $3bn of expected tariff refunds to lower prices in a bid to keep customers spending.

The rebate stems from duties the retailer paid after President Trump imposed a wave of tariffs on imported goods last year. Retailers are receiving refunds from central government after those tariffs were ruled unlawful.

Rival retailer Target recently said it had received $1bn in rebates boosting its profits.

Walmart, the US’s largest retailer, said the nearly $3bn in tariff rebate it anticipated would help it continue a programme of price cuts or “rollbacks” that it expanded earlier this year, external.

Walmart has leaned heavily on price cuts to retain customers, launching 11,000 of its so-called “rollbacks” across categories.

Chief financial officer John David Rainey said those lower prices were already lifting transactions and unit sales, especially in food and other staples like toys.

But he acknowledged that the retail environment remained uneven, with lower-income households – a core part of Walmart’s base – feeling squeezed.

Rainey said rising petrol prices were leaving shoppers with less spare cash, saying the shift in behaviour became clear once fuel went above $4 a gallon.

Price moves in June made the impact obvious, he added, with lower-income customers pulling back and focusing spending on essentials.

Beyond the consumer pullback, Walmart’s results highlighted several additional risks that could shape the firm’s prospects in the months ahead.

Much of the quarter’s profit lift came from tariff refunds that had already come in, a one-off benefit that analysts say won’t recur to the same extent.

The price rollbacks could put pressure on margins, while Walmart is also spending money on automation, new warehouses, and tech upgrades.

On the earnings call, analysts pressed management on whether lower prices were already driving a lift in sales and whether some rollbacks could be locked in for 2027.

Walmart said the benefits were showing up most clearly in food and other staples, and that certain cuts might remain if they continued to resonate with shoppers.

“Our hope and intention always is that rollbacks can become permanent … wherever possible,” Rainey said.

Analysts also questioned whether Walmart’s income could continue to grow despite flagging sales. Executives said they believed it could, pointing to businesses such as membership and advertising.