Eternal life was and remains a fixation for humanity, which still has not lost hope of finding the elixir of youth, which gives the ability not to grow old and prolongs life indefinitely. Meanwhile, on Earth there are undying creatures who received their immortality from nature. You will find out who they are from our article.
Plants and creatures that have immortality
Among the creatures that claim to be immortal, the first place is occupied by the jellyfish, to which scientists gave the name Turritopsis nutricula. After going through a full life cycle, she manages to reverse the aging process, starting the countdown of her existence anew.
For most jellyfish, death occurs after mating. After this, the immortal jellyfish, on the contrary, begins to rejuvenate - it returns to the juvenile stage and lives life again.
The juvenile stage is a period of postembryonic development that lasts until the end of puberty. Wikipedia
The fact is that Turritopsis nutricula has two phases of the life cycle: existence in the form of a polyp and the jellyfish itself. After reaching sexual maturity, this inhabitant of the deep sea turns into a polyp, from which young individuals bud off. This process is cyclical and can be repeated countless times. Moreover, when it finds itself in unfavorable conditions that threaten its existence, the immortal jellyfish also changes shape, becoming a polyp and waiting in this form until the environment surrounding it becomes more comfortable.
In other words, this hydroid coelenterate never dies a natural death, and its life can only be interrupted by killing it.
This amazing feature was discovered at the end of the last century by the Italian Fernando Boero, and this happened completely by accident. He conducted experiments on Turritopsis nutricula, but without achieving the desired results, he postponed the research for some time. Due to the absent-mindedness characteristic of scientists, he forgot to replenish the water in the aquarium, and it completely dried out.
Having decided to prepare the container for the next experiments, Boero began to clean the aquarium, discovered the remains of the experimental material and decided to finally examine it. Imagine his surprise when it turned out that the jellyfish did not die, but survived the transformation into larvae. The scientist again poured water into the aquarium, and after a while he noticed: the larvae turned into polyps, and jellyfish began to appear from them.
The scientific world immediately began studying this phenomenon. It turned out that the secret of the survivability of these hydroids lies in the composition of their cells, which are actually analogues of human stem cells.
There are other inhabitants of our planet whose existence lasts immeasurably long. About who else is given immortal life, watch the video:
Having studied the immortal jellyfish, scientists said: eternal life is possible, but for humans - so far only in theory. Research in the field of genetics is still in its infancy initial stage, and no one undertakes to predict when humanity will get a chance at immortality.
Immortality is a hope with which one should delude oneself. Anatole France
5 old-timers of the planet
If eternal life is an unattainable dream for us, then longevity is seen as a long-term, but very real prospect. In the meantime, we can only envy animals whose age has exceeded a hundred years.
Granny the killer whale
The youngest of all the old-timers lived only a little more than a century. By the way, scientists determined the age of this mammal by the number of offspring, because it is known that killer whales become sexually mature at 14 years old, stop giving birth at 40, and live as a “family” until the end of their days.
Lobster George
The lobster, weighing over 9 kg, was caught off the coast of Newfoundland and lived for some time in a New York restaurant. The restaurateurs simply couldn’t bring themselves to kill an arthropod that was 140 years old. A year later, under pressure from animal rights activists, the lobster was released into the wild.
Hatteria Henry
The 115-year-old reptile lives in one of the reserves in New Zealand. Despite his advanced age, Henry became a father six years ago. His “wife” was 111 years old at that time.
Jonathan the Turtle
The St. Helena resident recently turned 182 years old. He has become clumsy, sees practically nothing and has almost lost his sense of smell, but he still hears perfectly. Today this turtle is considered the oldest reptile on the planet. Before this, the palm went to its relative from India: the giant tortoise Advaita, who lived in the Calcutta Zoo, died at the age of 250.
Mollusk Min
This 500-year-old mollusk was caught from the Icelandic shelf. Scientists initially stated that it was born in the 17th century, but after carefully counting the number of arcs on its shell, they increased its age by one century.
Of course, this is not eternal life, but, you see, living for half a millennium is also not bad.
As scientists have found out, immortal animals live on Earth - these are jellyfish of the species Turritopsis nutricula. These mysterious inhabitants of the seas never die of natural causes!
The discovery, as happens quite often, happened spontaneously. Once upon a time, the Italian scientist Fernando Boero, for his own experiments, planted several jellyfish of the species Turritopsis nutricula in an aquarium “for preservation.” These jellyfish were little known to the general public, if only because they had a completely inconspicuous appearance and rather modest (no more than five millimeters in diameter) sizes. For some reason, the planned experiments had to be postponed, and the researcher, with the absent-mindedness characteristic of all scientists, forgot about the unfortunate jellyfish. The aquarium dried up and all its inhabitants seemed to have died.
Having discovered this sad fact, Boero threw up his hands and began to clean the aquarium in order to fill it with other “experimental subjects.” But Boero would not be a real naturalist if he had not made an attempt to study the remains of jellyfish, dried to the size of a match head, before throwing them in the trash.
Imagine his surprise when it turned out that the jellyfish had not died at all, but had only thrown off their tentacles and turned back into larvae.
Boero decided to continue the spontaneous experiment and, without touching anything, again filled the aquarium with water.
After some time, a real miracle happened: the half-dried larvae turned into polyps, from which new jellyfish subsequently budded.
Thus, it turned out that inconspicuous, one might even say primitive, small jellyfish can do the impossible: arbitrarily control their own genes, so that in case of danger they can “move backward”, returning to the “childish” stage of development and thus starting their life anew.
Of course, immortal jellyfish can also die, but only, as they say, “not by their own death”: they can be cut into pieces or simply eaten.
Scientists believe that the tiny hydroid jellyfish of the species Turritopsis nutricula is the only organism on Earth capable of independent regeneration and rejuvenation. She can repeat this cycle countless times, which makes her practically immortal.
This species of jellyfish, which is native to the Caribbean, has two stages of development: polyps and the jellyfish itself, as which it exists from several hours to several months. However, as this multicellular organism ages, it does not die, but returns back to the polyp stage, repeating the cycle an infinite number of times.
Considering that they do not die a natural death, Turritopsis Nutricula, under certain conditions, can, by multiplying too much, upset the balance of the world's oceans.
Dr Maria Miglietta, from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, told The Sun: "We're seeing a silent invasion of these jellyfish around the world." Turritopsis Nutricula jellyfish originally originated from the Caribbean region, but gradually they penetrated into other geographical areas.
However, people should not worry that this type of hydroid will eventually fill all bodies of water - Turritopsis nutricula has a lot of predatory enemies that exterminate their offspring.
The only immortal creature on Earth is probably the jellyfish. The hydroid Turritopsis nutricula, which has a diameter of only 4-5 mm, is a unique animal that is capable of rejuvenating itself, explains The Times newspaper.
Typically, jellyfish die after reproducing, but Turritopsis is able to return from the “adult” jellyfish stage to the “baby” polyp stage. Theoretically, this cycle can be repeated indefinitely, making the creature potentially immortal. Turritopsis nutricula was found in warm tropical waters, but scientists suspect that the species is spreading to other regions.
Jellyfish and hydras have long been on the radar of biologists and geneticists, who hope to use these creatures to unlock the secrets of the aging process. The theory of the “biological immortality” of hydra was put forward in the 19th century, and in the late 1990s it was experimentally proven that hydras do not die due to aging.
Note that biologists also know “immortal” cells that, under favorable conditions, can divide an infinite number of times. These include, for example, stem cells.
By the way:
The implementation of the mechanism of aging and death at the molecular genetic level can be represented by the following theories:
In 1971, A.M. Olovnikov suggested that when a cell divides, DNA cannot reproduce an absolute copy, the tip of the molecule breaks off, and as a result of successive contractions it becomes unsuitable for reading information. Hence the widely known “Hayflick limit” - the ability of a human cell to divide 50-59 times.
In the experiments of Californian researchers, it was shown that DNA is indeed limited by telomeres, which protect the molecule from damage. These nucleotide sequences do not carry an information load and are shortened at the time of division. The introduction of the telomerase enzyme gene using genetic engineering methods increases the life span of a cell today by 2 times (over 100 divisions).
An equally interesting explanation of the aging process at a subtle level was proposed by A.G. Trubitsin, who sees the horizons of longevity in the study of early isoenzymes that influence the sequential passage of discrete phases of the cell cycle, mainly the G1 phase.
The genes encoding anti-aging proteins include APO-A1. In the works of V.A. Kurdyum, gene implantation in experimental animals gave a pronounced anti-atherosclerotic effect.
Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were able to explain the biochemical mechanism of the starvation phenomenon: they discovered that the S1R2 gene and the protein it encodes have a decisive effect on the aging process - the higher the content of this protein in a cell, the higher its life expectancy. And one of the main factors contributing to the growth of this indicator is fasting. By the way, half-starved rats under experimental conditions live twice as long as their counterparts.
Aging can also be considered as a deficiency state, when, with “adequate nutrition,” the body does not receive or absorb in sufficient quantities essential vitamins, microelements, amino acids and fatty acid. Half of the centenarians live in mountainous areas, where, in addition to clean air and melt water, the soils are not depleted in mineral salts.
Where are the genes for longevity and aging located?
Boston scientists Thomas Perls and Louis Kunkel, in studies on centenarians, established a similar region in the fourth chromosome with a 95% probability. Apparently, among these 100-150 genes there are genes for longevity and aging.
Quote from the program “Anatomy of Aging” by A. Gordon
As scientists have found out, immortal animals live on Earth - these are jellyfish of the species Turritopsis nutricula. These mysterious inhabitants of the seas never die of natural causes!
The discovery, as happens quite often, happened spontaneously. Once upon a time, the Italian scientist Fernando Boero, for his own experiments, planted several jellyfish of the species Turritopsis nutricula in an aquarium “for preservation.” These jellyfish were little known to the general public, if only because they had a completely inconspicuous appearance and rather modest (no more than five millimeters in diameter) sizes. For some reason, the planned experiments had to be postponed, and the researcher, with the absent-mindedness characteristic of all scientists, forgot about the unfortunate jellyfish. The aquarium dried up and all its inhabitants seemed to have died.
Having discovered this sad fact, Boero threw up his hands and began to clean the aquarium in order to fill it with other “experimental subjects.” But Boero would not be a real naturalist if he had not made an attempt to study the remains of jellyfish, dried to the size of a match head, before throwing them in the trash.
Imagine his surprise when it turned out that the jellyfish had not died at all, but had only thrown off their tentacles and turned back into larvae.
Boero decided to continue the spontaneous experiment and, without touching anything, again filled the aquarium with water.
After some time, a real miracle happened: the half-dried larvae turned into polyps, from which new jellyfish subsequently budded.
Thus, it turned out that inconspicuous, one might even say primitive, small jellyfish can do the impossible: arbitrarily control their own genes, so that in case of danger they can “move backward”, returning to the “childish” stage of development and thus starting their life anew.
Of course, immortal jellyfish can also die, but only, as they say, “not by their own death”: they can be cut into pieces or simply eaten.
Scientists believe that the tiny hydroid jellyfish of the species Turritopsis nutricula is the only organism on Earth capable of independent regeneration and rejuvenation. She can repeat this cycle countless times, which makes her practically immortal.
This species of jellyfish, which is native to the Caribbean, has two stages of development: polyps and the jellyfish itself, as which it exists from several hours to several months. However, as this multicellular organism ages, it does not die, but returns back to the polyp stage, repeating the cycle an infinite number of times.
Considering that they do not die a natural death, Turritopsis Nutricula, under certain conditions, can, by multiplying too much, upset the balance of the world's oceans.
Dr Maria Miglietta, from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, told The Sun: "We're seeing a silent invasion of these jellyfish around the world." Turritopsis Nutricula jellyfish originally originated from the Caribbean region, but gradually they penetrated into other geographical areas.
However, people should not worry that this type of hydroid will eventually fill all bodies of water - Turritopsis nutricula has a lot of predatory enemies that exterminate their offspring.
Medieval bestiaries offer us a theoretical explanation of the essence of every living creature. Wild animals symbolize different aspects of human nature: the fox is cunning and deceitful, the dove is a symbol of peace, and the wolf represents war.
Sea creatures are also affected there. Leviathans, dolphins, sea unicorns - mythical animals are endowed with all sorts of properties, but none of them has immortality. Meanwhile, on Earth there really is only one species that can live forever. Meet Turritopsis dohrnii, the immortal jellyfish!
The small jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii has a dome diameter of only 4.5 mm. Actually, this species can be called a kind of zooplankton, with which the jellyfish prefers to migrate. Scientists first discovered Turritopsis dohrnii at the beginning of this century, and a few years ago they came to an amazing conclusion: it can live forever.
Where does it live?
The species originated in the Caribbean Sea, but long ago spread literally throughout Earth. Turritopsis dohrnii was found both in the Mediterranean Sea and off the Japanese coast. Scientists from the Smithsonian Marine Institute say, half-jokingly, that this jellyfish is the beginning of a space invasion. In every joke, of course, there is a grain of joke: there is simply no other such organism on Earth.
Immortality
It is important to understand that we are not talking about absolute immortality. Destroying such a small creature is as easy as shelling pears. However, this particular species can do something that no one else can repeat. Any other type of jellyfish lives up to several months: Turritopsis dohrnii, when exposed to unfavorable conditions, simply returns to the very first stage of its development.
Technical explanation
At this stage, the jellyfish's dome and tentacles stop growing. Instead, the body of Turritopsis dohrnii acquires processes on which feeding polyps grow. To put it bluntly, if Turritopsis dohrnii feels like life is going downhill, it simply returns to its childhood to try again.
Scientists' plans
It is too early to talk about any benefit that the immortality of Turritopsis dohrnii can bring to our species. However, scientists at Kyoto University are already trying to identify the genome that allows the jellyfish to return to its primitive state. If this succeeds, then, theoretically, humans can also be subjected to genetic modification. How do you feel about returning to kindergarten as a way out of difficult situations?
