Science & Technology

Bowhead whales could hold key to longevity

By T.K. Randall
January 4, 2015 ·  17 comments

Bowhead whales are the world's longest lived mammals. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 Olga Shpak For centuries mankind has been obsessed with finding ways to improve longevity or to reverse the ageing process and with recent advances in modern science and medicine it may not be long before achieving this goal becomes a real possibility.

Now scientists from the US and UK have announced that they have managed to map the entire genome of the bowhead whale, a mammal unique for its extreme longevity with some individuals having lived for more than 200 years.The science team has even been able to pinpoint the specific genes responsible for things like cancer resistance, DNA damage repair and the species' impressively long lifespan.

UK lead researcher Joao Pedro de Magalhaes believes that this discovery could have the potential to provide similar benefits to humans and that it might one day lead to new drugs and treatments that could increase our own lifespans by a significant degree.

Whether it would be possible for a human to live for two centuries however remains to be seen.

Source: Times of India | Comments (17)

Tags: Bowhead Whales, Longevity