Researchers based in the United States have studied a fish capable of suspending its aging. However, the latter produces a protein that is particularly essential for the regulation of the genes of its organs. One day, this protein may be used to stop aging in humans.
The African turquoise killi (Nothobranchius furzeri) is a fish living only in the lakes of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. In a study published in the journal Science on February 21, 2020, researchers from Stanford University (United States) became interested in the case of this animal. It turns out that the turquoise killi is blessed with a pretty incredible ability. Indeed, it can suspend its aging.
Named diapause, this ability allows the fish to reach a state of biostasis (or suspended animation). It is a state comparable to hibernation, synonymous with a temporary interruption of development. Most of the time, it is a question of coping with environmental variations, in particular long periods of drought in the lakes. According to the researchers, the animal is able to suspend its development for longer than its total lifespan (four to ten months).
This faculty of diapause, the African turquoise killi owes it to its ability to increase the production of a protein called CBX7 . It is a protein that plays a very important role in the regulation of organ genes as well as in muscle preservation. For the leaders of the study, it is not excluded that we could one day generate a state similar to diapause in humans thanks to this protein. Obviously, much research will have to be carried out in this direction.
You should know that other existing mechanisms could make it possible to place a human in a state of biostasis. For example, cooling over 20°C of the human body, a technique tested a few months ago. The goal is to slow down a patient's metabolic activity during an operation, in order to give surgeons more time.
A few weeks ago, we were talking about biological immortality, a topic addressed by ethology expert Audrey Dussutour (CNRS). The researcher gave a lecture at TimeWorld 2019, an international conference on time which took place from November 21 to 23, 2019 at the Cité des sciences et de l'industrie in Paris.
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