A cold-water giant may survive longer than entire civilizations, and its biology points to repair strategies humans can actually influence.
Some Greenland sharks alive right now may have been swimming under Arctic ice during the rise of the Ottoman Empire. Radiocarbon analysis of their eye-lens proteins suggests lifespans close to 400 years, with upper estimates approaching 500 years. A vertebrate that outlives continents is not just a biological oddity. It is a direct challenge to what we assume aging must look like.
Over the past two years scientists have developed the most detailed genetic picture of this species ever created. A new genome assembly from 2024 and follow-up findings from early 2025 reveal duplicated genes involved in DNA repair, tumor suppression, immune regulation, and NF kappa B signaling. These discoveries overlap with biological levers humans already try to influence through metabolic habits, circadian alignment, and repair-focused lifestyles.
Key Takeaways
- The Greenland shark may live 400 to 500 years, based on radiocarbon modeling of eye-lens proteins.
- Its genome shows expanded DNA repair, tumor suppression, and immune stability pathways.
- The shark maintains unusually low inflammation, partly through NF kappa B regulation.
- Extreme lifespan comes from low damage and high repair, not a single longevity gene.
- Several principles behind the shark’s longevity map onto human biology in practical ways.
Why a 400 to 500 year lifespan is scientifically credible
🦈 Greenland sharks hold a unique advantage for age estimation. The nucleus of the eye lens forms before birth and does not regenerate. It stays chemically frozen for life. By measuring the ratio of carbon isotopes inside this structure and comparing it to known atmospheric changes, researchers can model the shark’s age with century-level precision.
The largest Greenland sharks ever tested showed isotope signatures consistent with ages between 272 and 512 years. Even the conservative models center near 400. These animals grow extremely slowly, often less than one centimeter a year, and some reach lengths of more than five meters. Bigger means older and these sharks are enormous.
The results do not claim that every shark hits the upper limit. What they prove is that a vertebrate body can function far longer than mammals do without collapsing under metabolic damage, cancer, or chronic inflammation.
What the latest genome research reveals
In late 2024 scientists produced a chromosome-level assembly of the Greenland shark genome. It contains roughly 6.5 billion base pairs, about twice as many as the human genome. Size alone does not determine longevity, but distribution of gene families often does.
Here are the discoveries that matter most.
Expanded DNA repair machinery
🔬 Researchers found duplicated and diversified genes that control several types of repair:
- nucleotide excision repair
- double-strand break repair
- cell-cycle checkpoints
- tumor suppression networks
Slow-aging species tend to invest heavily in maintenance. The Greenland shark fits this pattern. When repair capacity stays ahead of cellular mistakes, aging slows dramatically.
Regulation of the NF kappa B inflammation pathway
The shark genome shows unusual variation in gene families associated with NF kappa B, a central regulator of inflammatory signaling. In humans chronic NF kappa B activation accelerates metabolic aging. The Greenland shark appears to keep this pathway tightly controlled and may protect its tissues for centuries as a result.
Balanced immunity without chronic activation
Longevity does not come from an overactive immune system. It comes from a stable one. The Greenland shark shows a combination of strong innate defense genes paired with low baseline inflammatory activity. A system that responds effectively but does not stay in alarm mode is a hallmark of slow-aging biology.
Stable proteins adapted to cold environments
❄️ Arctic animals often evolve proteins that resist misfolding at low temperatures. Stable proteins create less metabolic debris and reduce cellular stress. Humans experience the opposite problem as they age. Protein instability is a major source of inflammation and mitochondrial strain. The shark shows what long-term proteostasis looks like when it actually holds up.
What this means for human aging biology
Humans cannot reproduce the shark’s environment or copy its genetics, but several themes translate directly into human physiology.
DNA repair drives biological age
Damage accumulates in human DNA every day. Most gets fixed. The rest accumulates over decades. Species that live centuries usually outpace this damage with stronger repair systems. Humans can support repair through circadian alignment, restorative sleep, mitochondrial health, and reducing unnecessary oxidative stress.
Supporting repair is not extreme. It is consistent.
Controlling inflammation slows aging across every system
🔥 Chronic low-grade inflammation is one of the strongest predictors of accelerated biological aging in humans. It affects cardiovascular health, cognitive decline, and metabolic flexibility. The Greenland shark is a living example of what long life looks like when inflammation stays quiet for centuries.
Metabolic stability protects long-term health
The shark has one of the slowest metabolic rates of any vertebrate. Low metabolism means fewer free radicals, less protein damage, and minimal mitochondrial wear. Humans do not need extreme metabolic slowness. They need metabolic stability. Modern life pushes metabolism into chaos and chaos accelerates aging.
Temperature shapes biology in humans too
Cold exposure influences mitochondrial function, inflammation patterns, and energy regulation. Humans cannot replicate Arctic conditions, but brief cold exposure taps into some of the same mitochondrial pathways that help the shark operate at low temperatures for centuries.
Longevity is always a systems property
There is no single longevity switch. Long-lived species succeed because everything in their biology points in a low-damage direction. Humans can influence several of the same levers with daily habits.
Practical longevity insights inspired by the Greenland shark
This is not about copying the shark. It is about understanding the principles behind its unusual lifespan and applying human-friendly versions of them.
Support DNA repair naturally
- Maintain consistent sleep schedules
- Reduce oxidative stress from lifestyle and environmental factors
- Build mitochondrial resilience through movement and controlled fasting
Reduce inflammation load
- Emphasize whole foods
- Maintain good oral and gut health
- Manage stress predictably
- Balance omega 3 and omega 6 intake
- Avoid persistent irritants and low-grade infections
Integrate cold exposure carefully
❄️ Cold showers, ice baths, winter walks, post sauna cold dips.
Temperature is a biological signal. Mild regular exposure influences resilience.
Lower daily damage accumulation
The Greenland shark lives in a silent, low-toxin environment. Humans do not, but the idea still applies.
- Keep indoor air clean
- Avoid sharp glucose spikes
- Maintain consistent moderate activity
- Reduce exposure to pollutants and unnecessary chemicals
- Protect circadian rhythms
Why biohackers should care
A vertebrate living up to 500 years proves that aging pace is not fixed. It is adjustable. The Greenland shark shows what happens when damage remains low and repair stays strong for centuries. Humans do not need centuries to benefit from these principles. Even modest improvements in repair, inflammation control, and metabolic stability can shift biological age in meaningful ways.
The shark is not a template. It is a reminder of what biology can do.
Sources
- The Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) genome provides insights into extreme longevity (bioRxiv preprint).
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.09.09.611499v1 - National Geographic. Greenland sharks can live for centuries.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/greenland-shark-genetic-longevity - ScienceAlert. The genome of the Greenland shark reveals the secrets to its longevity.
https://www.sciencealert.com/the-genome-of-the-greenland-shark-reveals-the-secrets-to-its-longevity - Phys.org. Exploring the Greenland shark’s secret to extreme longevity.
https://phys.org/news/2025-03-exploring-greenland-shark-secret-extreme.html - PubMed. Eye lens radiocarbon reveals centuries of longevity in the Greenland shark.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27516602
