A side effect of these chemical reactions is a lot of heat. The fact that the chemical reactions in a fire generate a lot of new heat is what sustains the fire. Many fuels burn in one step. Gasoline is a good example. Heat vaporizes gasoline and it all burns as a volatile gas. There is no char. Humans have also learned how to meter out the fuel and control a fire.
Researchers just mapped their genome for the first time to find out. By Paca Thomas. Bowhead whales can live more than 200 years, and they rarely succumb to cancer or disease. Searching for clues about their longevity, researchers just mapped their entire genome. Watch more in the video above.
Herewith, six of the most famously long-lived individual animals: 1. Dynastic Clam. You may have heard of Ming, the deep-sea clam named after the Chinese dynasty during which it was born. When it died in 2006, it was believed to be the oldest living animal ever recorded. This ocean quahog, scientifically known as Arctica islandica, lived for 507 years and came to an inglorious end. In 2006, scientists accidentally killed the clam when they dredged it up off the coast of Iceland and froze it, along with many others, for transport back to the lab for climate change research.