According to the British "Daily Mail", a group of scientists from Australia estimated the natural lifespan of different species through research around DNA. Among them, the natural lifespan of human beings is only 38 years.
Researchers at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia calculate the natural lifespan of animals through the "methylation" process of DNA. DNA "methylation" is a form of chemical modification of DNA that does not alter the DNA sequence, but affects specific genes as organisms age, through which the age of an organism can be calculated. The scientists also compared the extrapolated data with public data such as the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) genome.
According to the researchers, "the close relatives of the ancestors of modern Europeans, neanderthals, and denisovans in Xiahe, Gansu, China, had a maximum lifespan of 37.8 years, and humans living in the same period were similar." This is in line with anthropologists' estimates of the life expectancy of early modern humans. The researchers say that the life expectancy of modern humans is more than twice that of the previous humans, reaching 79 years, thanks to the improvement of living standards and the development of modern medicine.
In addition to humans and ancestors, the researchers have tested on the genomes of other vertebrates, both still alive and extinct. The researchers estimate that the right whale is the longest-lived mammal on Earth, with a lifespan of up to 268 years, almost 60 years longer than previously thought; the lifespan of both the mammoth and the rectus is 60 years; and the lifespan of the extinct Pinta Island giant tortoise is 120 years.
The researchers say that understanding the natural lifespan of animals is important for animal conservation, biosecurity and wildlife management.
Column Editor-in-Chief: Gu Wanquan Text Editor: Cheng Pei Title Image Source: Figureworm Creative Image Editor: Shao Jing