Japan’s minuscule Turritopsis dohrnii jellyfish has figured out how to cheat death…
Shin Kubota of Kyoto University’s Seto Marine Biological Laboratory says, “Out of all the animals in the world, only they are able to reverse the aging process instead of dying,” he said. “We really don’t know their lifespan. They might live forever.”
Kubota spends his days tending to a colony of these jellyfish in a laboratory, feeding them shrimp by hand and even singing karaoke songs to them.
The fact that these “immortal jellyfish” have more genetically in common with humans than worms or insects has sparked the interest of many researchers attempting to not only figure out the jellyfish but how to apply their reverse aging process to humans.
Incredibly, when the jellyfish get hurt, they essentially spend three days returning to their polyp stage before becoming an adult again and healthy once more.
While there is an endless amount of mystery to the Turritopsis dohrnii jellyfish that Kubota may never figure out in his lifetime, his number one goal is simple.
“I hope that we can extend our fixed lifespan with immortal jellyfish.”
