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Bats May Hold Key to Human Health and Longevity
Developing
In Short: Scientists have discovered that bats, particularly the Brandt's myotis, may hold the secret to fighting aging, cancer, and infection, challenging previous assumptions about the separation of these health issues.
Researchers have found that bats, especially the Brandt's myotis, which has been known to live for up to 50 years, may hold the key to understanding how to combat aging, cancer, and infection in humans. This discovery suggests that healthy aging and resistance to disease may be different outcomes of the same biological machinery.
The study involved collecting tiny wing biopsies from various bat species, focusing on those in the genus Myotis, revealing that bats can withstand decades of strenuous flight while keeping infections, inflammation, and cancer at bay. This finding challenges the traditional view of aging and infection as separate fields of study.
According to Peter Sudmant, an associate professor of integrative biology at UC Berkeley, the diversity of animal life can serve as a library of potential solutions to human disease. 'If you start looking at long-lived species like elephants, whales, and bats, you start finding ways that nature has actually already resolved a lot of these problems in human health,' he said.
The research also linked longer lifespans in bats with stronger representation of genes involved in immune defense and cancer suppression, suggesting that an immune system that remains effective without producing uncontrolled inflammation could help eliminate infections, remove dangerous cells, and limit the gradual tissue damage associated with aging.
What's confirmed
What's still developing
- Brandt’s myotis, Myotis brandtii, holds the bat longevity record after one individual banded in Europe was found alive 50 years later.
- “We found the literal opposite of what we expected if you treat the bats with a lethal dose of this chemical,” he said.
- Small mammals generally burn energy quickly and die relatively young, yet some bats survive for several decades.
Sources
- SciTechDailylink