Human ancestors “lost” important anti-aging molecules when they turned nocturnal to avoid being eaten by dinosaurs. The research was published in the journal BioTrials.
There is a marked difference between the aging rates of mammals (including humans) and reptiles. University of Birmingham scientist João Pedro de Magalhãoes suggests that this discrepancy may be due to the dominance of dinosaurs during a critical period in mammal development, millions of years ago.
The published study notes that human ancestors around the time of the dinosaurs appear to have lost photolyases, enzymes that repair damage caused by ultraviolet light. This loss may have occurred because mammals became nocturnal.
In addition, in the time of the dinosaurs, it was more important for mammals to be able to reproduce quickly rather than live long. So natural selection caused the loss of genes associated with longevity.
Although this is just a hypothesis, it may be possible in the future to explain why cancer is more common in mammals. Additionally, a better understanding of the factors that cause aging could improve the fight against age-related diseases such as dementia and stroke.
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Source: Gazeta
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