How the Greenland shark can live for centuries

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“Even if you want to try, never grow up,” said Peter Pan in J.M. Barrie’s title novel, echoing a sentiment long expressed by the human race in an effort to cheat death.

The quest for the secrets of longevity has been the subject of scientific study for decades. And some of the greatest lessons about longevity come from nature itself.

Take Jonathan, the giant turtle, for example. The turtle, a resident of the remote island of St Helena in the South Atlantic, is thought to have probably been born in 1832 – but it may be over 200 years old since the exact date of his birth remains unknown.

Although blind and lacking a sense of smell, Jonathan still has keen hearing for his advanced age and sunbathes in mild weather.

But even though giant tortoises are known for their exceptionally long lifespans, they could be outclassed by an elusive creature of the deep.

The rarely seen Greenland shark is a lazy creature that swims slowly in the deep waters of the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans. The polar fish is the only shark species capable of withstanding freezing temperatures all year round.

Large sharks also live more than 400 years, and some of them may have been alive since colonial times.

After mapping and studying their extraordinary genomes, scientists believe sharks’ unusually long lifespans are rooted in their unique genetic makeup – with insights that could be used to extend human lifespan.

The “Black Beauty” meteorite opened a window into the study of ancient Mars when it was discovered in the Sahara Desert in 2011.

Astronomers believe the space rock was ejected from the Martian surface 5 to 10 million years ago. And now, a single mineral grain inside the meteorite has revealed the the oldest direct evidence of the presence of water on Mars 4.45 billion years ago.

The mineral grain was weathered by hot water on Mars, suggesting that habitable environments such as hot springs may have existed on the Red Planet early in its history.

Meanwhile, the Perseverance rover just completed its three-and-a-half-month climb up the steep rim of Jezero Crater on Mars, spotting an unusual zebra-striped rock along the way. The next step? Robotic explorer will study Mars’ oldest rocks to discover more about the planet’s mysterious past.

With their distinctive orange and black wings, monarch butterflies are easy to spot as they flutter among flowers, helping to pollinate plants and promoting biodiversity.

But monarch populations have seen a precipitous decline due to insecticides, habitat loss and the climate crisis – worrying enough that the US Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed adding these fragile species to the species list threatened.

If butterflies receive this designation, more steps could be taken to protect important pollinators. But officials warn that without action, monarchs could disappear before the end of the century with considerable consequences on ecosystems.

When a creature washed up in New Zealand in July, experts wondered if it was a spade-toothed whale, the rarest whale in the world, considered almost mythical because she has never been seen alive at sea.

Now scientists studying the remains have confirmed that “the really stocky, powerful-looking little animal” is indeed one of the elusive marine mammals, said Anton van Helden, an expert on some of the world’s most elusive whales. rare in the world.

The carcass, studied by cetacean scientists and members of the local Māori community, yielded valuable clues about the deep-sea diving animal.

Ancient DNA recovered from bone fragments found in a cave beneath a medieval castle has helped scientists determine when prehistoric humans met Neanderthals and made babies with them.

The bones belonged to a mother, daughter and distant cousins ​​who lived in what is now East Germany around 45,000 years ago. Their genomes revealed evidence of Neanderthal ancestry, meaning that the first Homo sapiens living in the region mated with Neanderthals 1,500 years earlier.

“We were much more similar than different,” said Priya Moorjani, an assistant professor of molecular and cellular biology at the University of California, Berkeley.

“They appear to have mixed with each other for a long time.”

In addition to shedding light on the shared history between humans and Neanderthals, the study also showed that the fragments belonged to a lost branch of the human family tree.