Scientists unveil inCell Reportsscientific journal Monday that they have come after in sequencing the genome of the bowhead hulk , a marine mammalian known for its unbelievable longevity , Scientific Americanreports . With a lifespan of over 200 years , the bowhead whale is the longest - living mammal on Earth . By comparing its gene — specifically those for DNA repair , cell cycle , cancer , and the aging process — to those of other mammals , scientists are hoping to improve the health and life of humans .
University of Liverpool geneticist João Pedro de Magalhães , who led the study , tellsScientific American , “ By key novel criminal maintenance and fix mechanisms , we hope to learn what is the secret for living longer , healthier lives and may be able utilise this cognition to ameliorate human wellness and preserve human life . ”
In addition to its lifespan , the bowhead hulk ’s size ( they can uprise to up to 60 feet and are the 2d heaviest whale , behind aristocratical whales ) may also show illuminating for changes in human wellness . While more complex species be given to have larger genome , the bowhead giant ’s genome , which is smaller than the human genome , shows that there may not be a correlational statistics between body size of it and genome size of it in animate being . Magalhães says his team was also able-bodied to notice a change in one specific gene that helps to govern physical structure temperature .
Mads Peter Heide - Jørgensen , a biologist at the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources and the University of Copenhagen , adds , “ Bowhead whale weigh between 50 and 100 tons when to the full grown and have probably 1,000 fourth dimension as many jail cell as man , but they plain have a anti - tumor answer at the cell level that is far more efficient than what is found in humanity . ”
Magalhães and his squad design to conduct further studies in rules of order to fully grasp the implication and applications of their research .
