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Polar bears are 'adapting' their DNA to cope with warmer climates and survive

With global warning and climate change continuing to affect us humans, animals are also being forced to change their habits, as new research shows nature is evolving to survive

[Polar bear]

Polar bears are desperately trying to stay alive as their habitat melts away(Image: Getty Images)

Polar bears in Greenland are believed to be evolving to help them adapt to warmer climates, according to scientists. Boffins who studied DNA of the furry creatures who live in the south-east of the region its warmest part believe their genes are changing to allow them to adapt to climate change.

They found DNA related to how the bears protect themselves when they overheat, ageing and metabolism are behaving differently. Lead researcher of the study by the University of East Anglia, Dr Alice Godden reckons rising temperatures, which are causing the animals icy habitats to melt at increasing speed, are driving a dramatic increase in the change of their genes.

She said: This finding is important because it shows, for the first time, that a unique group of polar bears in the warmest part of Greenland are using jumping genes to rapidly rewrite their own DNA. This might be a desperate survival mechanism against melting sea ice.

[Polar bear]

Research is showing polar bears are shifting their genes in order to survive in a warmer climate(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Alice added the research suggests that the bears are undergoing rapid, fundamental genetic changes as they adapt to their disappearing sea ice habitat. Eggheads analysed blood samples taken from polar bears in two regions of Greenland and compared how their jumping genes parts of DNA that can move and alter genetic states changed.

There are 26,000 polar bears worldwide and experts fear two thirds of them will have disappeared by 2050 due to climate breakdown. Brainiacs reckon the changes in genes could help scientists understand how polar bears might survive in warmer climates, highlight which populations are most at risk, and boost conservation efforts.

The team next plans to study the other 20 polar bear populations around the world to see if there are similar DNA changes. They reckon this research could help scientists protect the bears from extinction, but warned it was crucially important to stop temperatures accelerating by reducing burning of fossil fuels.

[Polar bear]

The species is already vulnerable and could be made extinct by 2050 if current emissions continue(Image: AFP/Getty Images)

Alice added: However, we cannot be complacent. This offers some hope but does not mean that polar bears are at any less risk of extinction.

Polar bears are not the only organisms having to adapt to warming temperatures, as even plants are starting to change their habits in order to survive global warming. According to new research, new roots in tropical rainforests are becoming more flexible to source their water, Phys.org reported.

Research from Colorado State University fund that plants such as trees and flowers are growing roots deeper into the soil to make sure they have a sustainable amount of water. Those leading the investigations revealed that while this does show signs that some plants could die off due to high temperatures, others could help save climates under threat.

[Amazon rainforest. In the photo: Rio Negro, located in the state of Amazonas.]

It comes as new research has found rainforests are trying to save themselves by adapting(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

"This finding shows that even while tropical forest roots in surface soils die off under drought, representing a carbon loss to the forest, some trees are able to send roots deeper in search of moisture, potentially helping rescue the forest," scientists said. "How extensive this rescue effect might be is unknown, and the increase in deeper roots is not enough biomass to offset carbon losses from much more extensive root death in the surface soils."

Tropical rainforests are incredibly important to the Earth as it helps to store much of the carbon dioxide we produce as a planet, making them the "lungs of the Earth". However, these are also the frontline for global warming and are often the canaries for major shifts in our climate.

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