BIRDS OF A FEATHER

The amazing things birds teach us about human health. This week: Macaws and life expectancy CERTAIN bird species are among the longest lived of creatures, living around three times longer than mammals of a similar size.

The South American scarlet macaw, for instance, can live for 80 or even 100 years, and scientists believe that the key to extending human lifespans may lie with these birds.

Researchers at Texas A&M University have sequenced the complete genome of macaws, which they plan to use to help them understand the bird’s longevity.

Another focus is on the telomeres, the ‘caps’ at the end of strands of DNA that protect our chromosomes, which have been shown in studies of finches, for instance, to predict lifespan when the birds are just 25 days old.