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Originally published by Society for Experimental Biology, on July 3, 2024 Tissue collection from a Greenland shark. Credit: Ewan Camplisson New experimental research shows that muscle metabolic activity may be an important factor in the incredible longevity of the world's oldest living vertebrate species—the Greenland shark . These findings may have applications for conservation of this vulnerable species against climate change or even for human cardiovascular health . Greenland sharks ( Somniosus microcephalus ) are the longest-living vertebrate , with an expected lifespan of at least 270 years and a possible lifespan beyond 500 years. "We want to understand what adaptations they have that allow them to live so long," says Ewan Camplisson, a Ph.D. student at the University of Manchester, UK . Previously , it was thought that this long lifespan was due to the shark's cold environment and minimal movement , but the factors behind the extreme longevi...

Originally published by Frontiers, on August 18, 2023  Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain What if we could identify the earliest warning signs of cardiovascular disease from a simple saliva sample ? Scientists think they have found a way to do so. Gum inflammation leads to periodontitis , which is linked with cardiovascular disease . The team used a simple oral rinse to see if levels of white blood cells —an indicator of gum inflammation—in the saliva of healthy adults could be linked to warning signs for cardiovascular disease. they found that high levels correlated with compromised flow-mediated dilation , an early indicator of poor arterial health . " Even in young healthy adults, low levels of oral inflammatory load may have an impact on cardiovascular health—one of the leading causes of death in North America," said Dr. Trevor King of Mount Royal University, corresponding author of the study published in Frontiers in Oral Health . Read more