Overview
- The Rochester-led team identifies CIRBP as central to enhanced repair of DNA double-strand breaks in bowheads, publishing the findings on October 29 in Nature.
- Bowhead whales produce roughly 100 times more CIRBP than humans, and cell experiments show the protein increases with modest cooling.
- Expressing bowhead CIRBP in human cells significantly improved accurate repair of DNA double-strand breaks.
- In fruit flies, added CIRBP enhanced DNA repair and extended lifespan.
- Researchers are raising mice with boosted CIRBP and cautiously exploring human-relevant approaches such as cold exposure or pharmacological upregulation, noting translation remains early.