The Neuron Expedition is now analysing shark DNA

The Neuron Expedition In Search of the Longevity of the Greenland Shark is back from its trip to Iceland. Watch the video with the expedition's leader Prof. Václav Brázda of the Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Where did the expedition travel, what did it learn about the shark and what will it get from its DNA?

"So far we know that the DNA is of sufficient quality for sequencing, so we will have data from it for genome analysis. We have to arrange the data so that they make sense and so that we can read from them which genes and regulatory regions are present in the genome," says Václav Brázda.

The Neuron Expedition focused on a vertebrate that has so far remained on the margins of world science — its DNA probably contains a molecular-genetic trick that allows it to escape the processes of ageing and to prevent tumour growth. Can the Neuron Expedition's findings help us get to know one of the oldest species on the planet better, and might there be a connection with human DNA?

Follow our pages and further news from the Neuron Expedition In Search of the Longevity of the Greenland Shark, or become a fan of the expedition's Facebook page Dlouhověký žralok.