At 102, Saul Belson has escaped many of the diseases that easily kill men 30 and 40 years his junior.

It may be luck, or the fact that he tried to eat healthy and was never a smoker or a drinker. Or, it might be genetics.

Belson is part of a set of those not just living, but living life well and with no or few health problems, over age 100.

Hes hoping to be selected as a genomic pioneer in a gene sequencing competition.

A hundred centenarians are being chosen worldwide to voluntarily contribute their DNA to the Archon Genomics X PRIZE competition, presented by Medco, a health care and research company based in New Jersey.

It is a competition of world-class teams from genotyping companies that will compete to quickly, accurately and affordably sequence the genomes of the 100 centenarians.

The grand prize to the winning genotyping company is $10 million. It is being funded by philanthropists and sponsors.

Ive always been very interested in science, Belson said. If Ive got something good, Im willing to share it.

Belson was born in London on Sept. 12, 1909, to Russian immigrant parents. They came to Chicago when he was 5 years old.

Belson spent most of his professional life working in the dental industry as a designer, making false teeth for Boston Dental in Chicago. He moved to Sakonnet Bay Manor in Tiverton six years ago after his wife, Dora, died, and to be closer to his son, Harold.

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Tiverton centenarian recruited for genetics contest that could unlock secrets of longevity

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