Great White Sharks could help Scientists find Cure for Cancer in Humans

The animals, which have been on Earth for millions of years, have evolved to be immune to the disease.

Great white sharks could help scientists to discover a cure for cancer in humans thanks to their huge and extraordinary genome.

The first “map” of the animal’s DNA has uncovered a range of mutations that protect against the disease and other aged-related conditions, as well as enhanced wound-healing.

Great white sharks, which measure up to 20-feet long and weigh as much as three tons, have been on Earth for at least 16 million years.

Over time they have evolved numerous molecular changes in genes linked to DNA-repair and damage tolerance, the scientists found.

These adaptations have acted to keep the shark’s genome stable.

Study co-leader Dr Mahmood Shivji, director of the Save Our Seas Foundation Shark Research Centre at Nova Southeastern University in Florida, said: “Not only were there a surprisingly high number of genome stability genes that contained these adaptive changes, but there was also an enrichment of several of these genes, highlighting the importance of this genetic fine-tuning in the white shark.”

In contrast humans suffer high rates of genome instability caused by accumulated DNA damage, which accounts for their vulnerability to age-related diseases such as cancer.

Experts believe understanding more about how the great white has evolved to keep its genome stable and resist disease could lead to new life-preserving human treatments.

Dr Shivji continued: “Genome instability is a very important issue in many serious human diseases.

“Now we find that nature has developed clever strategies to maintain the stability of genomes in these large-bodied, long-lived sharks.

“There’s still tons to be learned from these evolutionary marvels, including information that will potentially be useful to fight cancer and age-related diseases, and improve wound healing treatments in humans, as we uncover how these animals do it.”

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