Could the DNA of the Great White Shark have a secret to cure cancer?

Catch the theme of John Williams in the movie Jaws and make sure you have a boat big enough that plunges us into this story. New research shows that great white sharks may actually have secrets about potential treatments for cancer.

Recent DNA mapping of these deep-sea predators has revealed mutations that protect sharks against cancer and other diseases. BBC reported Tuesday. Although the information on shark DNA is interesting, scientists have not yet understood how to apply it to the treatment of humans. However, research has shown that two shark immune genes, legumain and Bag1 are of particular interest. Research has shown that these two genes have equivalents in humans, where their overexpression is well known to be associated with a range of cancers.

According to the report, the scientists behind the research hope to continue analyzing the data to determine how DNA could be used in the treatment of people. The research, conducted by scientists from the Shark Research Center of the Save Our Seas Foundation of Nova Southeastern University in Florida, indicates that the DNA of the Great White Shark has evolved in the same way as human DNA . BBC I said. The shark can actually repair its own DNA, which is one of the reasons it does not seem likely to undergo some mutations impacting people.

Mahmood Shivji, the co-head of the study, said that genome instability is a major problem in many diseases that affect the population, including types of cancer.

"We now discover that nature has developed smart strategies to maintain genome stability in these large, long-lived sharks," Shivji said. BBC. "There is still much to learn from these wonders of evolution, including potentially useful information to fight cancer and age-related diseases, and to improve wound healing treatments at home." Man, as we discover how these animals do it. "

The DNA of sharks is actually bigger than human DNA, about one and a half times. According to the report, this means that the animal's DNA contains information that humans can not use. If they have enough time and research, scientists believe that it is possible to learn many applications from shark DNA. Scientists believe that shark DNA could be used to help heal wounds, as well as for blood clotting, because of the animal's ability to recover quickly from serious wounds, BBC I said.

This is not the first time that Save Our Seas scientists have touted the potential of shark DNA. In 2017 a genomic study of great white sharks and hammers revealed changes in their immunity genes that could benefit wound treatments.