Develop a method to calculate the life expectancy of current and missing species

2019/12/16 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Biologia
• Genetika
• Eboluzioa

In the genome study, researchers at the Australian research center CSIRO have estimated that the life expectancy of humans is 38 years. According to this method, Neanderthals and denisoveses had a length of life similar to that of modern man: 37,8 years old.

During the research, genomes of 252 species have been used and it has been observed that in vertebrates, the methylation of 42 specific genes allows calculating the life expectancy of the species. Examples include both current and missing species, such as hairy mammoth (60 years), African elephant (65) and Greenlandic whale (268).

According to the researchers, knowledge of the life expectancy of the species is necessary to establish appropriate biodiversity policies, so they expect the developed method to be useful. The study has been published in the journal Scientific reports.