Elephants – Genetic Jackpot Podcast

It’s estimated that between 11 to 25 percent of humans will die from cancer during life.

The odds increase for those who live longer and the larger you are, the odds increase even more.

However, oddly enough, only five percent of elephants die from cancer despite a male adult elephant weighing up to 13,000 pounds.

Theoretically, elephants should have a significantly higher cancer rate than humans.

So what’s happening here?

New research indicates that elephants have a gene nicknamed the “Zombie” gene. It’s known scientifically as LIF6 and it only is found in elephants.

Tag: Elephants