The Secret to Staying Young

 Zaneyah Hughes

21 Nov 2025

Genetics

Dr. Barbato 

The Secret to Staying Young

    This article studied whale genetics, more specifically why whales actually lived so long. They found evidence that the whale’s p53 gene (the gene that is in control of cell division and cell death) was a lot less active, which could be associated with an increased risk for cancer. However, this is not the case for bowhead whales; their cells repair their DNA at a remarkably fast rate. Additionally, the bowhead seemed to have a large amounts of a protein called CIRBP, whose job is to speed up the production of proteins that protect against damage to cells. When the CIRBP gene was inserted into human cells, the rate of DNA repair was doubled.

    

    Although it could be argued that the bowhead whales live longer due to lower mutation rates, I think its pretty cool to know the science behind why bowheads have lower mutation rates. Until I stumbled across this article, I hadn’t given it much thought as to why such a large organism could live a significant amount longer than humans, despite the increased risk for mutations. This study basically proved that if we can boost DNA repair, we can essentially prevent cancer or “age related-decline”, meaning that the CIRBP gene could be considered the secret to youth. Finally, this discovery also opens the door to question if similar genetic mechanisms can be activated in humans, transforming how we can approach longevity and disease prevention.

Sources: original article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09694-5.

 extra article: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/science/genetics-bowhead-whales-longevity.html?searchResultPosition=2.