Polar bears are older than previously announced

Polar bears appeared 600,000 years ago, much earlier than expected. Polar bear gene studies previously evaluated this species to be only about 150,000 years old.

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But research by Frank Hailer and colleagues published on April 19 shows that the species has 600,000 years of being familiar with polar conditions. And it also means that polar bears cannot adapt to rapid climate change.

Polar bear

Previous studies focused on mtDNA structure , which is only a small part of the panda genome and is passed from mother to child. It was concluded that polar bears were born from a northern brown bear.

But Hailey's research, published in the journal Science, examined data from multiple regions with different genetic traits in the genome and found that both brown bears and polar bears appeared long before. , compared to our calculations.

The "primordial" characteristics show that polar bears are a species that has long life in cold conditions and has plenty of time to change and adapt.

"However, the lack of genetic diversity in polar bears is evidence that rapid changes in the environment, such as the warming of the Earth, can narrow the size of this population," the study said.

The study warns of changes in living habits, widespread hunting of humans, toxic substances discharged into the environment and other human-induced "stressors" that can "increase cooperation". of the current environmental changes " , posing great threats to the survival of polar bears.