Key points from article :
Researchers establish why small mammals like bats live so long.
“Hibernators tend to live much longer than migrators,” said the
study’s senior author, Gerald Wilkinson.
They analyzed small tissue samples taken from the wings of 20 big
brown bats and measured changes in DNA methylation.
A significant overlap between the hibernation genes and the
longevity genes was found, further highlighting the link between hibernation
and longer lifespans.
They are planning a follow-up study to compare epigenetic
aging in big brown bats to know how hibernation plays in prolonging lifespans.
The study was led by the University of Maryland and was published
in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
