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Prague, Czech Republic – Could Arctic sharks hold the key to human longevity? A groundbreaking study has revealed intriguing clues about the extraordinary longevity of Greenland sharks and could pave the way for new anti-ageing treatments.
This deep sea creature is At least 270 years These sharks, which can possibly live to be over 500 years old, have long baffled researchers with their ability to remain immortal, but a team led by doctoral student Euan Camplison from the University of Manchester has discovered that the secret may lie in the sharks’ unique muscle metabolism.
Greenland sharks, which can live for up to 500 years, have not just broken records but are rewriting our understanding of vertebrate ageing. The discovery, presented at the Society for Experimental Biology annual meeting in Prague, could have far-reaching implications, from protecting this vulnerable species from climate change to potentially improving cardiovascular health in humans.
Previous theories had attributed the longevity of western lowland sharks to their cold environment and minimal movement, but Camplison and his team thought there might be something else. They set out to investigate whether the sharks showed the classic signs of metabolic aging, as seen in most other species.
To solve this biological mystery, the researchers took a clever approach.
- Muscle Tissue Analysis: The team collected samples of preserved muscle tissue from greyhounds of various ages.
- Enzyme Assay: They performed enzyme assays on these samples to measure metabolic activity.
- Spectrophotometric measurement: The researchers used a spectrophotometer to measure the metabolic activity of enzymes in sharks of different ages and environmental temperatures.
This approach allowed the scientists to paint a picture of how the greyhound’s metabolism changes over time and under different conditions.
They found no significant differences in muscle metabolic activity with age, suggesting that shark metabolism does not appear to slow down over time, which may play an important role in sharks’ incredibly long lifespans.
“This is quite different from most animals, who tend to show some changes in metabolic enzyme activity as they age,” Camplison said in a media release. “The results support our hypothesis that Greenland sharks do not show the same signs of aging as other animals.”
This finding is in stark contrast to what is observed in most animals, where metabolic enzyme activity changes with age. The Greenland shark appears to have found a way to maintain metabolic activity throughout its remarkable lifespan.
The study also uncovered an unexpected twist regarding temperature: the Greenland shark’s metabolic enzymes were significantly more active in higher temperatures.
“This suggests that the metabolism of sharks’ red muscle is not specifically adapted to polar environments, otherwise we would expect that temperature-related differences in activity would not be so great,” Camplison explains.
This discovery calls into question our hypotheses about how these cold-water organisms adapt to their cold habitats.
Discussion and Summary
The impact of this research goes far beyond academic interest: in an era of rapid climate change, long-lived species like Greenland sharks face unique challenges.
“Female Greenland sharks may not reach sexual maturity until they are 150 years old, and the long generation period means this species will have much less opportunity to adapt to anthropogenic changes in its environment,” Camplison said.
The potential applications of this research extend beyond conservation: Camplison is also investigating how these findings could benefit human health.
“By studying Greenland sharks and their hearts, we may be able to better understand our own cardiovascular health,” the study authors conclude, “problems that become increasingly common and severe with age.”
