Can the Oldest Known Whale Unlock the Mysteries of Cancer? | Ft Shark Bytes

Video Description

Marine biologists break down the science behind the world's longest living animals, including a bowhead whale that survived a harpoon from the 1800s, the shark that doesn't reach maturity until it's 150 years old, and the only known animal capable of biological immortality. 00:00 - The 200-Year-Old Whale Swimming Beneath Arctic Ice 00:58 - This Bowhead Whale Survived a Harpoon from the 1800s! 03:44 - The Greenland Shark With SHARK BYTES 06:05 - How Greenland Sharks Live 400 Years 08:12 - The Immortal Jellyfish 09:58 - Why Whales Don't Get Cancer 12:09 - How Long Do Whales Live? Special thanks to marine biologist, shark scientist, and science communicator Kris from the Shark Bytes YouTube Channel for taking the time to talk about the oldest living vertebrate. Greenland sharks are estimated to live between 272 and 512 years, with an average of nearly 400 years. Follow Kris over at his channel, Shark Bytes, for the best shark content on YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@SHARKBYTES Bowhead whales are the only baleen whale endemic to the Arctic Ocean, where they use their massive skull to break through sea ice. In order to survive this harsh environment, bowhead whales have evolved to have the thickest blubber layer of any whale. This thick layer of blubber made them prime targets for commercial whaling. Commercial whaling of bowhead whales effectively ended in the early 1900s, with whaling ceasing by 1921. By then, the population had declined to less than 3,000 individuals. Thankfully, some populations have shown considerable recovery since the end of commercial whaling, with an estimated population of 12,500 in the Western Arctic. In 2007, a bowhead whale was found with a harpoon fragment lodged in the bone between the neck and shoulder blade. The fragment was sent to the curator of the Whaling Museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He identified it as a specific model patented in 1879 and likely fired in 1890. Meaning that bowhead whale survived a Victorian hunting expedition, lived through World War I, the Moon Landing, the invention of the Internet, and was still swimming in the Arctic when the first iPhone came out. Even though this whale was at least 115 to 130 years old, it wasn't an “old,” frail animal. It was healthy and reproductive. This discovery raised a bunch of questions about the actual lifespan of these animals. CORRECTION: 03:41 The title card incorrectly states that vertebrates are animals that do not develop and retain a backbone or spinal column. The "do not" is a typo. Vertebrates have spines and backbones, invertebrates do not. Sources [1] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383930736_The_Greenland_shark_Somniosus_microcephalus_genome_provides_insights_into_extreme_longevity [2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27516602/ [3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34445220/ [4] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09694-5 [5] https://www.theguardian.com/science/2000/nov/17/uknews [6] https://www.forbes.com/sites/scotttravers/2025/11/14/meet-the-whale-that-just-brought-us-one-step-closer-to-curing-cancer-a-biologist-explains/ [7] https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/mammals/Puget_Sound_killer_whale/pdfs/Southern-Resident-Orca-Biological-Assessment-for-Oregon-ESA_092023.pdf [8] https://theconversation.com/a-new-study-shows-an-animals-lifespan-is-written-in-the-dna-for-humans-its-38-years-128623 [9] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-54447-w [10] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2246897/ [11] https://resources.arctickingdom.com/the-mystery-of-the-oldest-bowhead-whale [12] https://www.north-slope.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/SC-65b-BRG05.wetzel.age_.pdf ------------- Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/kpassionate TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@kpassionate Discord → https://discord.gg/YuuHNm2t2E Merch → https://shop.kpassionate.com ------------ Music Cody Martin - soundstripe.com ADDITIONAL IMAGES NOAA Fisheries NOAA PMEL NASA sebolla74 - soundstripe.com hotelfoxtrot - soundstripe.com markoconnell - soundstripe.com maddrat - soundstripe.com cinejinn - soundstripe.com Airstock - soundstripe.com Longjourney - soundstripe.com SkywardKick - soundstripe.com icsnaps - soundstripe.com BlackBoxGuild - soundstripe.com icetray - soundstripe.com zech - stock.adobe.com stock_pro - stock.adobe.com AREA 6 - stock.adobe.com Akurra - stock.adobe.com petarg - stock.adobe.com blackboxguild - stock.adobe.com Nejron Photo - stock.adobe.com lucadp - stock.adobe.com Walter_D - stock.adobe.com Manuel Mata - stock.adobe.com Dan Talson - stock.adobe.com Aleksey - stock.adobe.com Денис Беляев - stock.adobe.com MohammedElAmine - stock.adobe.com underocean - stock.adobe.com videodive - stock.adobe.com rickray - stock.adobe.com Framestock - stock.adobe.com Kiliii Yuyan, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Rajaraman R, Guernsey D, Rajaraman M, Rajaraman S, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Smith E, Blass G, Lewin G, Park T, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons #kpassionate #sharks #whales