Researchers at Bar-Ilan University reveal protein changes linked to longevity throughout mammalian evolution.
Over the past several decades, human lifespan has steadily increased. However, this progress has also led to a growing proportion of the population suffering from age-related diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, and diabetes. Extending both lifespan and healthspan, the period of life spent in good health, requires a deeper understanding of the biological mechanisms that promote healthy aging.
In the natural world, mammalian lifespans vary enormously, ranging from just 1 to 2 years in some rodents to more than a century in species like whales and humans, a striking 100-fold difference. Such remarkable diversity raises an important question: what biological factors allow long-lived mammals to maintain health well into old age?
A new study published in Nature Communications by researchers at Bar-Ilan University addresses this question by drawing on evolution itself, the longest and most extensive natural experiment, to uncover the secrets of longevity.
The research was led by Prof. Haim Cohen, Director of the Sagol Healthy Human Longevity Center at Bar-Ilan University’s Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences in collaboration with Dr. Sagi Snir of the University of Haifa.
Tracing Protein Changes Across Species
Sarit Feldman-Trabelsi, a PhD student in Prof. Cohen’s lab, developed a novel computational tool called PHARAOH (Positive posttranslational Modifications Regulator of Healthspan). Using advanced statistical methods, PHARAOH compared protein sequences across 107 mammalian species with varying lifespans. This approach enabled the researchers to trace specific protein changes, particularly posttranslational modifications (PTMs) such as acetylation, throughout evolution and identify those consistently enriched in long-lived species.
PTMs regulate essential cellular processes and have been linked to increased resilience against age-related diseases, including cancer. By comparing long-lived and short-lived mammals, the team uncovered consistent protein modifications associated with extended lifespan. Experimental validation confirmed that the PTMs identified by PHARAOH play significant biological roles in aging and disease resistance.
Implications for Healthspan and Disease Resistance
“Our findings offer a promising path toward understanding how protein modifications can protect against age-related diseases and promote longer, healthier lives,” said Prof. Cohen. “By pinpointing the PTMs linked to longevity, we can begin exploring therapeutic strategies that mimic these natural, evolutionarily conserved mechanisms.”
One striking insight from the study is how large mammals such as whales exhibit dramatically lower cancer rates despite having significantly more cells than smaller animals. The research revealed that certain PTMs found in these species likely serve protective roles against cancer, shedding light on molecular strategies for disease resistance and longevity.
These findings pave the way for future research into therapies that target proteins and modifications associated with healthy aging. By leveraging nature’s own longevity strategies, the researchers aim to uncover new methods to slow aging and combat diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes.
Reference: “The mammalian longevity associated acetylome” by S. Feldman-Trabelsi, N. Touitou, R. Nagar, Z. Schwartz, A. Michelson, S. Shaki, M. Y. Avivi, B. Lerrer, S. Snir and H. Y. Cohen, 22 April 2025, Nature Communications.
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58762-x
This study was funded by the SAGOL Network.
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11 Comments
Good science news
Thank you so much, as a Pastor and studying our eating habits.A long with taking ,holy Communion, every day even at home.Studies have showed that a person may improve their health and live a longer lifespan. I take extra virgin olive oil every day thank you God bless.
Have you seen the study on blood, where they pray over someone for an hour and the blood glows… with light. Dr. Rebecca Marina I belive. So cool. God Bless
The paper does not say that food choices or organized superstition practices improve health or make impossible “glow” of blood.
Yes, regimes such as training are already known to improve health and lifespan, something which the paper did not cover.
Posttranslational modifications is epigenetically driven with no DNA sequence changes involved. No DNA sequence changes involved in inheritance of generation traits is anti-evolution in its nature. Epigenetics implies intelligent design, not evolution.
Epigenetic-derived adaptations, historically, had evolutionists kicking and screaming because of its evolution unfriendly implications. Since then over the years evolutionists have moved the goal post and finding ways to word it so it seems to be evolution.
One way they have done is calling epigenetic modifications as being ‘DNA change’. IT IS NOT DNA CHANGE. It is spin. Looking at articles on Neanderthals, they call people as ‘having their DNA’. No. It’s having their same gene expression/epigenetic modifications. This mischaracterization is by the dozens in papers. Neanderthals were 99.84% identical to us in their DNA sequences. It’s not possible to have some humans have 4% Neanderthal DNA while others have none.
There are other ways too by wording things to be deceiving. Evolution is NOT happening.
It is possible and evolution is happening. Just as God intended. Science and God are not mutually exclusive.
Evolution over generations in populations is the process of cellular life that underlies all biology, including epigenetics. Specifically the paper does use and test evolution, here of histone acetylation and its sites. It says up front that it is what they do: “One intriguing option to explore how healthy ageing may be achieved is by analyzing nature’s largest ongoing biological experiment, namely, evolution, and in particular, the development of long-lived animals.”
There are no “evolutionists”, it is an accepted fact and theory of an observed process. Medicine in particular is using and welcome evolutionary methods and they have never changed its language: evolution improves health and saves lives, as this paper works hard to do, and no immoral organized superstition can change that. Science and organized superstition are now explicitly exclusive since the 2016 Planck observatory repeat of a robust and beyond reasonable doubt test of the observed entirely natural process of space expansion that produces the universe. It leaves no longer room for your proposed magic.
Epigenetics is evolved, as all other cellular mechanisms – we are after all evolved biochemical machines that resulted from the first split between geology and biology (as now established by phylogenies). no more and no less. So the paper studies the DNA changes that underlies the epigenetic mechanisms such as evolution of acetylation sites and the resulting protein expression – you should read it before tarnishing it.
Of the introgressed Neanderthal genome material we see in the extant human population, it remains 20 % of a complete Neanderthal sequence. This means we have a lot of Neanderthal (and some Denisovan) ancestry: “Various estimates exist for the proportion, such as 1–4%[6] or 3.4–7.9% in modern Eurasians,[51] or 1.8–2.4% in modern Europeans and 2.3–2.6% in modern East Asians.[52]” [Wikipedia] This is based on such sequences that are inserted into extant human genomes, there are many methods to identify them. None of extant populations has zero Neanderthal introgression, but e.g. the southern tip of Africa has the least since Neanderthals evolved in Europe (and Deniosvans in Asia) and the mixing was largest there and then evolutionary mixing from that source spot shows the usual pattern. Biogeodiversity source regions are after all the third pillar of evolution, besides genomes and old style fossils.
Since Neanderthals (and Denisovans) split from other humans about 800,000 years ago, a lot of the introgressed genome is identical with what it replaces. But it has been important: “Nonetheless, some genes may have helped modern humans adapt to the environment.”
The science is not deceiving you on well known facts that we all can accept and share, your own “wording” is deceiving you personally for reasons we other can only observe but never understand.
Language:
“evolution improves health” – application of evolution science improves health.
“It leaves no longer room for your proposed magic” – It no longer leaves room for your proposed magic.
“a lot of the introgressed genome is identical with what it replaces” – a lot of the introgressed genome regions have itself regions identical with what it replaces.
Interpreting the Bible is the epitome of deceiving. Believing in any of the gods as reality is ludicrous. Logic, reasoning and rationality is bringing reality to your life. Only if reality is too scary for you should you lean on mythologies.
To sum the paper from a quick browsing, it is basic but promising research on histone regulation of protein expression and how it relates to longevity. It resulted in a lot of possible suggestions for applied longevity research.
The proteins are obviously broken down or changed as they are repeatedly pumped or filtered through the heart. There is a direct correlation between resting heart rate and life span. Even long distance runners have a slower resting heart rate of around 40 per min. The same as a blue whale and they both live about 90 years.