For Juan Manuel Vazquez, handling bats is just another part of his job as a biologist. That might seem a bit odd, since he studies aging at Pennsylvania State University in University Park. But Vazquez is looking for anti-aging genes. He’s investigated a variety of creatures, from bowhead whales to Galapagos tortoises. Bats, though, make up much of his work since they’re more accessible. “Bats are literally right there in your backyard,” he says.
Vazquez starts by taking a small skin clipping from a bat’s wing. This doesn’t hurt them, he says. Bat wing membranes closely resemble the webbing between your own fingers. Try grabbing the webbing between your thumb and forefinger. “You won’t feel any pain if you pinch it really hard,” he says. Back in the lab, Vazquez grows cell cultures from his samples. This allows his team to study their genes “without having to disturb the animal ever again.”
Vazquez focuses on bats belonging to the genus Myotis. These bats vary in how long they live. Some species only survive for a few years. Others, such as Brandt’s bats, can reach over 40 years old. By comparing their genes, Vazquez and his team hope to tease out why certain species live such long lives.
In this interview, Vazquez shares his experiences with Science News Explores. (This interview has been edited for content and readability.)
What inspired you to start your career?
One of my first memories was when my grandma was diagnosed with cancer. She passed away when I was six. By the time I was eight, I had already attended many funerals. That’s because I was part of a huge family. I was exposed to a lot of aging-related conditions, such as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
That inspired me to try to understand why people have to suffer from these diseases. My family and I would travel from Puerto Rico to the mainland United States for medical care. We’d visit advanced medical centers like Mass General Brigham, in Boston, Mass., and the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
Doctors are really important. I was surrounded by them growing up since my mom was a nephrologist, a kidney doctor. But I noticed that modern medicine had two sides to it. On the one hand, we have all this really cool, cutting-edge technology. But on the other hand, we use treatments for certain diseases that haven’t changed in a long time.
I realized that doctors can only do things that they have the resources for. Doctors don’t invent medications, nor do they set the prices. Scientists and the patent holders do. So I was the weirdest kid who wanted to be like the guy who invented insulin. I wanted to find a cure for cancer and aging. That way, no one would have to worry about them.
How did you get involved in studying aging?
I originally planned on staying in Puerto Rico for college. But I made a mistake while preparing to apply. That meant I had to go to elsewhere in the United States for college. I chose to attend the University of Rochester in New York. That’s where I came across some researchers studying the evolution of aging in naked mole rats, which can live up to 31 years.
I sat in on a class about the biology of aging, which made me realize that I could study this. I probably wouldn’t have studied aging if I had enrolled in another school. Instead, I would’ve likely studied cancer in a more traditional sense.
I found the subject of evolution to be boring growing up. You learn that evolution happens on such a big time scale. I thought it had nothing to do with cancer or aging. But then I realized that evolution can help you study things not possible during your lifetime.
Galapagos tortoises can live about 200 years while bowhead whales and Greenland sharks live even longer. You would need multiple generations to investigate one animal’s lifespan. But all of these animals are closely related to short-lived things. Studying why these animals live so long compared to their relatives lets you tackle a problem that was once considered completely out of reach.
How do you get your best ideas?
As a kid, I loved the idea of being a polymath. That’s a person well-rounded in everything. I didn’t just like science. I loved the arts, history and architecture, as well.
I still like reading about what others are doing in completely different fields. That’s how I came up with my portable genetic sequencing kit. I can bring it on a plane in a carry-on bag without any problems. I can catch an animal, determine the species and sequence its genome within 18 hours. I never would have thought of that had I not been hanging out with photographers. They have to figure out how to safely carry expensive gear to the weirdest places.
