15 Most Incredible Scientific Discoveries Of 2015

14. Genes Responsible For 200-Year Lifespan Discovered In Whales

The Bowhead whale lives for a remarkably long time, with studies estimating that they can live to at least 211 years old. A Bowhead born in 2015 would be likely to live to 2226 - around the time scientists predict that we will have developed anti-matter powered spaceships. Anyway, a team from the Liverpool Centre for Genomics Research in the UK, set out to discover the secret to their longevity by sequencing their genome. A long-standing mystery in science has been the fact that large whales, with more than 1,000x more cells that humans, should be at much higher risk of developing cancer, and yet they remain amazingly cancer-free. The research into the Bowheads' genome has revealed that they have unique mutations in two of their genes that could be responsible for cancer resistance, age prevention and DNA repair. They have also found that large whales tend to have a much lower metabolic rate than smaller mammals, possibly contributing to their longer lifespans. It is hoped that this research could help us to fight cancer and other age-related diseases, and perhaps even slow the aging process itself.
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Writer. Raconteur. Gardeners' World Enthusiast.