4
0
1
0
These predatory fish eat salmon, eels, seals and even polar bears if they get the chance. However, their meals are very far apart. A Greenland shark weighing around 220kg can survive comfortably on just 60g to 170g of food a day.
Camplisson’s new research shows that the fish’s metabolism doesn’t slow down with age. This may explain why sharks tend to live so long. This isn’t the case in most animals, including humans. For example, human metabolisms tend to slow down as we age, which is why we tend to gain unhealthy weight as we age.
By monitoring the activity of five metabolic enzymes in Greenland shark muscle tissue, the researchers found that in most species, the activity of these enzymes changes at different stages of body development.
Some enzymes decrease in activity over time as they age or break down, while others can then recover and increase their activity again to ensure the body still produces enough energy.
In Greenland sharks studied between 60 and 200 years old, there was no significant change in enzyme activity. Of course, a 200-year-old Greenland shark could still be middle-aged, so this may not be true as they enter their third or fourth century of life.
The researchers will now continue to study the activity of other enzymes to see if and how they change as the sharks age.
The aging process is extremely complex.
These research results still need a long process before they can be applied to improve human health because the aging process is an extremely complex system and we still do not fully understand it.
Changes in metabolism, for example, are just one part of the aging process in humans. Genetic defects, protein instability, and other processes are known as “hallmarks of aging.” Researchers want to learn more about these hallmarks to determine whether Greenland sharks show normal signs of aging.
While the Greenland shark’s unique aging trait has helped it live for centuries, it could also be a double-edged sword in a rapidly changing environment.
The species is considered “vulnerable” by the World Conservation Union and may be too slow to adapt to climate change, polluted seas and other harmful factors.
Related
Related
Related
Related
#Sharks #Greenland #waters #live #years
2024-07-20 07:18:12