Researchers have found that the way bowhead whales regenerate could help fight cancer and slow the effects of aging.
Berlin, October 30 (DeutscheWelle).- The boreal whale is one of the mammals further big y long-lived in the world, with a life expectancy that could even exceed 200 yearsbecause? A scientific equipment international points out that this remarkable longevity could be due to a greater ability to repair mutations in DNA.
Specifically, the work suggests that a response from the longevity is located in a protein call CIRBP. This plays a key role in the repair of breaks of double chain in it ADNa type of genetic damage which can cause diseases and shorten the life expectancy in various species, including humans.
Researchers found that bowhead whales have much higher levels of CIRBP than other mammals. The findings, while still very early, offer a new clue about how humans might one day improve DNA repair, better resist cancer and slow the effects of aging.
Details are published in the magazine Naturein an article led by Jan Vijg and Vera Gorbunova, from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the University of Rochester, in New York, respectively.
Nature research paper: Evidence for improved DNA repair in long-lived bowhead whale
— nature (@Nature) October 30, 2025
A mechanism against cancer
The “multistage model of cancer” is a widely accepted framework that explains how normal cells do not become cancerous in a single step, Gorbunova said. Cancer develops after multiple genetic mutations accumulate in key genes that control cell growth, division, and DNA repair.
Given this multistage model, one would expect that animals with more cells and a longer lifespan would accumulate more mutations and therefore face a higher risk of cancer, but that is not what is observed. This enigma is known as Peto’s paradox, recalls a statement from Rochester.
Large species do not have higher cancer rates than smaller ones, even though they have many more cells that divide for many more years. The paradox describes that larger ones, such as elephants and whales, must have evolved additional mechanisms to prevent or repair cancerous mutations.
The exact nature of these has baffled scientists.
To try to clarify this, the team investigated the probability that the cells of the bowhead whale mutated into cancer cells when an oncogenic stimulus (such as UV radiation) was applied.
Encased in a blanket of blubber that is nearly half a metre thick, the 80,000-kilogram bowhead whale does not, at first glance, seem a natural poster child for health and longevity
— nature (@Nature) October 29, 2025
The scientists saw, on the one hand, that whale cells actually need fewer mutations to become malignant than human fibroblasts.
And on the other hand, they discovered that the animal’s cells are less likely to accumulate oncogenic mutations from the beginning. In the observations, whale cells showed fewer mutations than human cells, suggesting that, despite being susceptible to DNA damage, it is repaired: that is why disease does not develop.
Does cold water help?
They identified above all a protein associated with this repair, CIRBP. They added it to cultures of human and fruit fly cells and, in both cases, DNA repair improved; in flies it even prolonged their lifespan.
The researchers also discovered that if the temperature is lowered just a few degrees, the cells produce more CIRBP protein. “What we don’t know yet is what level of cold exposure would be necessary to trigger that response in humans,” said Andrei Seluanov, also of Rochester.
The team is considering multiple ways to increase the protein in humans, but they are still hypotheses.
Whales and sharks—symbols of strength and balance—today face ocean warming, acidification, and food loss due to our activities. pic.twitter.com/G7eqHm4MXJ
— Oceana in Mexico (@OceanaMexico) October 26, 2025