21/2/2018 Do Bats Hold the Secret to Long Life?

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Do Bats Hold the Secret to Long Life?

February 18, 2018

Bats are the only mammals that can y a great distance, but they have another
ability. Many bats live a very long time for an animal their size.

European researchers are studying bats to understand why they live so long. ey
hope to make discoveries aimed at ghting the aging process in human beings.

Last week, the group of scientists said they had identi ed important biological
qualities in some bat species.

e group studied bat chromosomes, a line of genes found in the nucleus of cells. e
scientists were most interested in structures connected to the ends of the
chromosomes. ey are called telomeres.

Telomeres protect the ends of chromosomes, which shorten each time a cell divides.
Scientists believe this shortening process causes cells to break down. ey say this is
what causes aging.

A report on bats was published this month in the journal Science Advances.

Among the leaders of the study was Emma Teeling, a biologist with University
College Dublin in Ireland.

Teeling said studying long-living mammals that have developed ways to ght aging
“is an alternative way to identify the molecular basis of extended ‘health spans.’”

She added that studying bats enables scientists to learn more about the processes

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/do-bats-hold-the-secret-to-long-life/4247410.html 1/3
21/2/2018 Do Bats Hold the Secret to Long Life?

“that drive healthy aging.”

e European researchers studied 493 bats from four bat species. e group used
information that had been gathered over more than 60 years.

Of these animals, the greater mouse-eared bat generally lived the longest, an
average of 37 years.

e scientists said this and a related species, which are grouped together under the
name Myotis, had telomeres that did not shorten with age.

Another Myotis bat holds the record for oldest age, reaching 41 years.

e scientists’ ndings suggest that these bats’ cells have the ability to maintain and
repair their telomeres. is, they said, helps guard against the aging process.

Based on its body size, a bat like the greater mouse-eared bat would be expected to
live four years. But, these mammals have been found to live nearly 10 times longer
than that.

e scientists found that only 19 species of mammals live longer than humans when
their body size is considered. Eighteen of these are bats. e only exception is an
unusual African rodent, the naked mole rat.

I’m Mario Ritter.

e Reuters news agency reported this story. Mario Ritter adapted the report for
VOA Learning English with additional materials from the study. George Grow was
the editor.

________________________________________________________________

Words in is Story
https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/do-bats-hold-the-secret-to-long-life/4247410.html 2/3
21/2/2018 Do Bats Hold the Secret to Long Life?

mammals – n. animals that produce milk, have hair and have a high body
temperature

alternative – adj. another way or possibility

species – n. a group of people or animals that belong together or have some shared
qualities

maintain – v. to keep up or protect in an existing state

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our
Facebook page.

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/do-bats-hold-the-secret-to-long-life/4247410.html 3/3