Bowhead whale cells need fewer mutations to change, and they are just better at repairing DNA than human cells.
CIRBP helps keep DNA ends safe and makes the repair process more accurate, which means fewer mistakes and less damage over time.

When researchers boosted the whale CIRBP protein in fruit flies, the flies lived longer and handled radiation better.
Cooler temperatures increased CIRBP production in human cells; CIRBP is cold-inducible and bowhead whales have very high baseline CIRBP levels.
This opens up new ideas: maybe we could one day boost our own CIRBP with genetics or even lifestyle tweaks like cold exposure.

Rather than depending on additional tumor suppressor genes, bowhead whales rely on enhanced DNA repair to limit mutations and reduce cancer risk, helping to explain aspects of Peto's paradox (why big animals do not get more cancer).
Now, researchers are exploring if boosting CIRBP could help humans too.