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Bats that never get old may hold the key to immortality

Saturday, 10 February 2018 5:57 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 10 February 2018 5:57 AM ]

A greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis), bites the finger of a nature conservationist on January 12, 2018 in Frankfurt/Oder, in eastern Germany. (AFP)

Small mammals reproduce fast and die young but certain types of bats called Myotis seem to be the exception to this rule. Bats live extremely long considering their size nearly 10 times longer than they should. They don’t even get cancer like other animals. This surprising power is in the telomeres of their DNA. Telomeres, found at the ends of our chromosomes, shrink as we grow older. Unlike in humans, the telomeres of long-lived bats do not shrink with age so the cells don’t lose their ability to regenerate themselves.

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