Some bats live astonishingly long for their size — one Brandt’s myotis was recaptured 50 years after it was first banded — and they rarely get cancer. A new genomic study suggests how, and the answer centers on the immune system.
Researchers — led by Juan Manuel Vazquez (UC Berkeley, now Penn State) with collaborators including Peter Sudmant and Elise Lauterbur — analyzed eight genomes from the Myotis genus and published in Nature.
What they found
Two themes stood out. First, longer-lived species carried higher levels of cancer-fighting genes, and there was substantial overlap between aging-related genes and immune-defense genes. Second, and strikingly, damaged cells in long-lived bats tend to self-destruct rather than attempt DNA repair — the opposite of the usual mammalian response — a “better safe than sorry” strategy that may prevent damaged cells from turning cancerous. The bats also had unusually large numbers of genes for interacting with DNA viruses, hinting at an immune system on constant high alert.
Why it matters
“Maybe you can improve your immune system so it doesn’t decline in old age… ways to fight off tumors so our immune system doesn’t get tired,” Vazquez said. This is basic comparative biology, not a treatment — but understanding how bats couple long life with cancer resistance could point toward new ideas for human aging and immunity. Preliminary; not medical advice.