It might sound bat crazy, but these disease-riddled cave-dwelling creatures of the night might hold the key to curing CANCER

They have been much maligned for their links to the Covid pandemic, but bats may hold the secret to curing cancer.

A new study has found that some species contain more than 50 unique genes that may make them immune to tumors, even though they live extremely long.

Bats have baffled scientists for years because of their unique ability to live normally with viruses that kill or sicken most other mammals – and humans.

Yet this ability to tolerate viruses puts them at the center of questions about the origins of Covid, which is thought to have emerged in the animals.

Researchers hope that by better understanding their miracle immune systems, they can develop ways to prevent and treat cancer in humans.

Armin Scheben, a postdoctoral researcher at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York and the study’s lead author, told DailyMail.com: “The DNA of bats harbors cancer-fighting genes that allow bats to resist cancer,” Scheben said.

‘Our research identifies several genes that can suppress tumors that have undergone genetic changes in bats, which we believe may increase bats’ ability to resist cancer better than other mammals, including humans.

‘Our findings are a first step towards developing bat-inspired anti-cancer therapies to prevent and treat cancer in humans.’

Lots of wild animals can develop cancerbut because age is a risk factor, most do not survive long enough to be affected.

Bats live long lives – some the human equivalent of 200 years – yet rarely develop cancer.

In the latest study, researchers analyzed the complete set of genes from two bat species: the Jamaican fruit bat and the Mesoamerican mustache bat.

They compared the genomic analysis with other mammals.

They found genetic changes in 46 cancer-related proteins that previous researchers had already found to suppress cancer. They also found genetic changes in six proteins related to DNA repair.

“What we wanted to do is increase our understanding of how certain species are more resistant to cancer than humans and how those species also generally age more slowly than other mammals such as humans,” said researcher Richard McCombie, one of the paper’s researchers . authors told DailyMail.com.

The article was published in Genome biology and evolution.

According to the study, bats could be responsible for the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, also known as Covid-19, as closely related viruses are detected in wild bats.

Bats are known for their ability to harbor and survive viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2, their long lifespans and low rates of cancer, the study said, making them of interest to researchers looking to explore implications for humans and other mammals want to find.

Scheben noted that climate change may accelerate the transmission of infections from bats to humans, so understanding how bats can tolerate infections could help researchers find treatments that mimic their antiviral properties.

“Understanding how these genes work could drive the future development of therapies that prevent or cure human disease, for example by moderating the inflammatory overreactions that lead to serious outcomes in human infections, as we see with Covid-19,” said Scheben.

“By generating these new bat genomes and comparing them to other mammals, we continue to find extraordinary new adaptations in antiviral and anticancer genes,” said Armin Scheben, the paper’s lead author. a press release.