At the Longevity Summit Dublin 2024, Emma Teeling captivated the audience with her talk on how bats could unlock secrets to human longevity and disease resistance. Teeling's research focuses on bats' extraordinary lifespans, resistance to viral infections, and how they maintain their telomeres with age. Her genomic research through the Bat1K Project aims to identify the genetic basis for these traits, which could provide new strategies for extending human healthspan and preventing age-related diseases.

Key Points:

• Bats as Models for Longevity: Emma Teeling discussed how bats, particularly species like the Myotis, live far longer than expected for their size and show no signs of ageing in the wild. They also exhibit unique resistance to diseases such as viral infections, making them valuable models for studying longevity and disease resistance.
• Ageing and Disease Resistance in Bats: Bats can survive infections from deadly viruses like coronaviruses, Hendra, and Marburg without getting sick. Their immune systems are highly modulated, offering potential insights for improving human immunity and extending healthspan.
• Genomic Research in Bats: Teeling co-founded the Bat1K Project, aiming to sequence the genome of every living bat species. This initiative provides chromosome-level assemblies to better understand the genetic mechanisms that contribute to bats' exceptional longevity and disease resistance.
• Telomere Maintenance: One of Teeling’s studies showed that bats can maintain their telomere length as they age, which could be a key factor in their longevity. Unlike humans and most other mammals, bats do not show significant telomere shortening with age, indicating unique mechanisms of DNA repair and maintenance.
• Comparative Genomics: Her team is exploring how bat species differ in their ageing processes. They have observed that long-lived species, like Myotis, maintain their telomeres through mechanisms possibly involving telomerase. This work could uncover novel anti-ageing pathways that might be applicable to humans.
• Potential Applications for Human Health: By studying the unique molecular pathways in bats that allow them to live longer and resist diseases, Teeling hopes to translate these findings into novel therapies for humans, particularly in areas related to ageing and immune resilience.