These bizarre, centuries-old sharks may have a hidden longevity superpower
The very, very long-lived Greenland shark was thought to be practically blind for a long time. But a new study shows that they can not only see but also retain their vision into old age
Photo by: Martin Zwick/Reda/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Greenland sharks are a biological anomaly. The animals can grow more than 20 feet long, weigh more than a ton, and live for years 400 yearsThat makes this species the longest-lived vertebrate on the planet – a fact that may help uncover the secrets to increasing longevity.
And now, in a study Published this week In nature communication, Scientists dialed in on one of the Greenland shark’s more remarkable features: Its eyes work and, more remarkably, it retains its vision well into old age.
Biologists have long believed that these sharks are practically blind, partly due to their tendency to attract parasites that attack and hide inside the shark’s cornea. But this work challenges that belief, as the researchers write, showing that the centuries-old Greenland shark also retains a visual system “well-adapted to life in low light.”
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“Evolutionarily speaking, you don’t keep an organ you don’t need,” said Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk, an associate professor of physiology and biophysics at the University of California, Irvine, and co-author of the paper. in a statement“After watching several videos, I realized that this animal is moving its iris towards the light,”
Skowronska-Krawczyk and colleagues analyzed samples taken from sharks more than a century old and found no obvious signs of retinal degeneration, which, given their advanced age, is a “remarkable” finding.
The researchers say the work provides a starting point for future research into how sharks preserve their vision for so long, adding that the work could ultimately inform the study of age-related vision loss in humans – and how to prevent it.
Ph.D. “There aren’t a lot of people working on sharks, especially shark sightings,” said Emily Tom. student at the University of California, Irvine, who is also a co-author of the study same statement,
“We can learn a lot about vision and longevity from long-lived species like the Greenland shark,” Tom said.
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