Guess whale age through 'dandruff' on the skin

In the future, researchers can determine the age of a whale just by understanding its peeled skin. This method is based on checking the shortness of the chromosomes.

Humpback whales peel off skin in the water.(Photo: NOAA)

Scientists are very interested in determining the age of whales to assess the impact of commercial fishing and understanding their behavior and mating practices.

Some whales can be dated with their teeth. But humpback whales do not have any teeth, so one must replace by counting its earwax classes - a method that only works with dead animals.

Now scientists from the Whale Research Center at Southern Cross University (Australia) are developing other, simpler methods.

They drag the animal onto a boat, then use a hook to grab the piece of the scalp (like dandruff) of the animal, which can be as big as a hand. Normally, these pieces of skin will be released naturally when the fish sparks onto the water surface or bangs its tail on the surface.

From the upper pieces of skin, people will separate the chromosomes. The ends of the chromosomes are called telomeres, which are shortened over time in some animals. By measuring the length of these telomeres and comparing them with the known short speed, researchers will find the age of the animal.

However, there are still many obstacles in this technique, such as no one is sure whether all whales have telomeres shortened over time. In addition, not all "dandruff" pieces on fish skin contain enough genetic material for analysis.

T. An