Lmst

Life Lessons from (Very Old) #BowheadWhales
A #gene that helped #bowheads adapt to frigid Arctic waters also granted them extraordinary longevity. Could it help #aging humans?
Some #whales caught in late 1900s had old #harpoon points lodged in their blubber that dated to the mid-1800s. By measuring the molecular damage that accumulates in the eyes, ears and eggs of bowhead whales, researchers have estimated that bowheads live as long as 268 years!
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/science/genetics-bowhead-whales-longevity.html
https://archive.ph/lDfB1

#BowheadWhales #longevity

"Not only are they the longest-living mammal on Earth, they’re close to being the oldest animal of them all (taking the bronze longevity medal behind the Greenland shark and the ocean quahog). To date, the oldest recorded specimen is 211 years old. That means some Bowhead whales alive today could’ve been born during the War of 1812.

Considering this astonishing level of longevity, it’s no wonder that scientists are immensely curious as to how these massive, 100-ton beings pull it off. In a new study published in the journal Nature, a team of scientists led by researchers at the University of Rochester think they might’ve found at least part of the answer. Compared to other mammals, Bowhead whales contain an unusually high concentration of a protein called CIRBP. This protein is known to repair double-strand breaks where both strands of the double helix DNA structure are severed, which typically causes disease and shortens lifespans."

Bowhead whales' secret to long life may lie in a protein known as CIRBP

As humans age, we become more vulnerable to cancer and other diseases. Bowhead whales, however, can live for up to 200 years while staying remarkably disease resistant.
#bowheadwhales #cancer #lifespan #CIRBP

https://phys.org/news/2025-10-bowhead-whales-secret-life-protein.html

'Last Ice Area' In The Arctic Could Disappear Much Sooner Than Previously Thought
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https://phys.org/news/2025-01-ice-area-arctic-sooner-previously.html <-- shared technical article
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02034-5 <-- shared paper
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #Arctic #Canada #LastIceArea #LIA #icedependent #species #ArcticOcean #icefree #climatechange #ecology #polarbears #belugas #bowheadwhales #walruses #ringedseals #beardedseals #ivorygulls #spatialanalysis #model #modeling #spatiotemporal #Tuvaijuittuq #FirstNation #inuit #indigenous #seaice #simulations #archipelago

map - extent of the Last Ice Area (red contour) as defined by the World Wildlife Fund

charts - Observed and simulated September sea ice extent

photo - walrus huddle, Queen Elizabeth Islands, Arctic Canada

Study reveals #rightwhales live 130 years—or more
Scientists working with Indigenous subsistence hunters in Utqiaġvik used chemical analysis of harvested #bowheadwhales to show they can live more than 200 years. Right #whales, which are much more closely related to bowhead whales than any other species, appear to exhibit similar #lifespans. The current study examined four decades of data collected by photo identification programs tracking individual whales.
https://phys.org/news/2024-12-reveals-whales-years.html

New research published in ‘Science Advances’ has found #southernrightwhales live to a median age of 73 years old, with up to 10% surviving past 131 years.

This makes them the second-longest lived mammals on Earth, after #bowheadwhales, which can live to over 200 years old.

Dr Vanessa Pirotta, a #Cetacean scientist, said whales were long-lived animals 'just like us'. Southern right whales migrate up and down Australia's coastline every year.

#auspol

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/video/2024/dec/20/southern-right-whales-can-live-to-over-130-years-old-new-research-video

Commercial whaling and climate change are inhibiting evolutionary change in Arctic whales
#Environment #Science #Arctic #Whales #Narwhal #ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #ArcticWhales #Biodiversity #BowheadWhales #GeneticDiversity #CommercialWhaling
https://the-14.com/commercial-whaling-and-climate-change-are-inhibiting-evolutionary-change-in-arctic-whales/

#Whales May Be Communicating Across Vast Distances https://hakaimagazine.com/news/whales-may-be-communicating-across-vast-distances/

Synchronization of bowhead whales https://journals.aps.org/prresearch/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.6.033174

"in 2010, two #BowheadWhales entered the bay to gorge. As the pair came within 100 kilometers of one another, they were visually out of range, but could likely still hear one another. That’s when something extraordinary happened: they began to synchronize their dives. Researchers had never scientifically documented this behavior before"

aerial photo of 2 whales on water surface

Unraveling the genetic legacy of commercial whaling in bowhead whales & narwhals
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.01.04.574243v1?rss=1

* their ranges overlap h/e bowhead whales exp. greater whaling pressure than narwhals
* opportunity to examine demographic & genetic consequences of commercial whaling
* bowhead whales: more genetic diversity prior to commercial whaling

#cetacean #whales #whaling #GeneticDiversity #ecology #Arctic #harvest #genomics #MarineMammals #whaling #EnvironmentalHealth #BowheadWhales #narwhals

Changes in the Arctic and in the North Pacific/Bering Sea region are pushing humpback whales into very high latitudes. This may be a result of climate change -- reduced sea ice and shifts in the food web -- or humpback whale population increases, or maybe some combination of factors. Additionally, humpback whales are not the only more southern whales starting to mingle in bowhead territory. #Arctic #Alaska #whales #climatechange #humpbackwhales #bowheadwhales
https://alaskabeacon.com/2023/10/10/humpback-whales-increasingly-sighted-in-arctic-alaska-waters-better-known-as-bowhead-territory/

"In waters that are traditionally not covered by ice and have higher ship traffic, “ships can be extremely harmful to whales ... slow-moving animals that spend a lot of time at the surface,” Szesciorka said. North Atlantic right whales, “cousins” to the bowheads, “are being driven to extinction by ship strikes and fishing entanglements,” she said.

“With increases in shipping, especially in the winter in the Bering Strait region, it is increasingly likely that bowheads will be struck by ships,” Szesciorka said."
#AlaskaArctic #ClimateCrisis #BowheadWhales #ClimateEmergency
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/wildlife/2023/03/19/bowhead-whales-migration-patterns-have-shifted-in-the-arctic/