Some fish live beyond 100 and get healthier as they age

The older ones are better able to fight bacteria, and have a "lower ratio of neutrophils to lymphocytes in the blood", which ratio indicates stress. They evolved to live a long time because good breeding conditions are rare. No word on biochemical mechanisms.

Re: Some fish live beyond 100 and get healthier as they age

#5

Post by j16sdiz » Sun, Jan 21, 2024, 2:09 PM UTC

> These calcium carbonate structures, which allow fish to hear and sense vibrations in the water, form a new layer each year that can be read somewhat like tree rings.

Each time I read dating method like these, I wonder how stable these method are. Sure they are sensitive to water temperature, right? We have not-so-long-term climate changes, periodic solar storms and irregular volcano eruption.. All these are affect water temperture...

Re: Some fish live beyond 100 and get healthier as they age

#6

Post by adrianvoica » Sun, Jan 21, 2024, 2:11 PM UTC

That's because they drink a lot of water, and everybody knows water is good for you. :)))

Re: Some fish live beyond 100 and get healthier as they age

#7

Post by bestouff » Sun, Jan 21, 2024, 2:32 PM UTC

> In one study, bigmouth buffalo had stronger immune systems than younger fish.

Or maybe only fishes with a stronger immune system get older ?

Re: Some fish live beyond 100 and get healthier as they age

#8

Post by pingou » Sun, Jan 21, 2024, 2:51 PM UTC

"The otolith analysis revealed that about 90 percent of Apache Lake’s buffalofishes were more than 85 years old". That sounds very fishy. Perhaps they just have some sort of genetic code that make them create those new layers of calcium carbonate structures more often than once a year.

Re: Some fish live beyond 100 and get healthier as they age

#9

Post by fb03 » Sun, Jan 21, 2024, 2:59 PM UTC

That is beyond amazing to me.

As a layperson in biology related stuff, I'd like to ask: How do scientists estimate the age of non-human animals?

Re: Some fish live beyond 100 and get healthier as they age

#10

Post by Symmetry » Sun, Jan 21, 2024, 2:59 PM UTC

It's not clear from the article but animals can generally live quite a bit longer than you'd expect if they continue to grow for their entire life, which is true for some types of fish. Gunk that builds up inside or between cells gets redistributed over larger areas, as do cells that become senescent. And larger size means more space for memory T cells. Those are only some aspects of aging of course.