Experts think they may finally have unlocked the secret to Greenland sharks’ long lifespan.
Greenland shark They can live up to 500 years, and their longevity is expected to continue. Holds the key to preventing human aging.
Their longevity is thought to be linked to the extremely cold environments they inhabit – up to 8,684 feet (2,647 meters) deep beneath the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans – and the fact that they rarely move.
But now, this kind of research suggests that it may all be down to their constant metabolic activity.
New research published Society for Experimental Biology Conference They suggested that, unlike other animals, the Greenland shark’s metabolic rate does not appear to change over time, regardless of age.
Lead author Euan Camplison, a PhD student at the University of Manchester, said: Live Science: “This is important to us because it shows that the sharks are not showing the typical signs of ageing.”
BBC
Metabolism refers to the chemical reactions by which enzymes break down nutrients into energy and use that energy to repair the body. In most animals, metabolic rate slows with age, resulting in less cell turnover, less energy production, and slower repairs.
As part of the study, muscle tissue was taken from 23 Greenland sharks caught off the southern coast of Disko Island in central Greenland, and ranging in age, based on their body length, from 60 to 200 years old.
The researchers then measured the activity of five enzymes in the sharks’ tissues to determine their metabolic rate, and were surprised to find that there was no difference with age.
“In most animals, we would expect some enzymes to become less active over time as they degrade and become less efficient,” Camplison explained.
However, Greenland sharks appear to have a stable metabolic rate that allows them to live surprisingly long lives without degenerating like other animals.
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