Immortal animal found?

Mutoes

Mutoes

Mildly Dipped
http://green.yahoo.com/blog/guest_bloggers/26/the-world-s-only-immortal-animal.html


"The turritopsis nutricula species of jellyfish may be the only animal in the world to have truly discovered the fountain of youth.

Since it is capable of cycling from a mature adult stage to an immature polyp stage and back again, there may be no natural limit to its life span. Scientists say the hydrozoan jellyfish is the only known animal that can repeatedly turn back the hands of time and revert to its polyp state (its first stage of life).

The key lies in a process called transdifferentiation, where one type of cell is transformed into another type of cell. Some animals can undergo limited transdifferentiation and regenerate organs, such as salamanders, which can regrow limbs. Turritopsi nutricula, on the other hand, can regenerate its entire body over and over again. Researchers are studying the jellyfish to discover how it is able to reverse its aging process.

Because they are able to bypass death, the number of individuals is spiking. They're now found in oceans around the globe rather than just in their native Caribbean waters. "We are looking at a worldwide silent invasion," says Dr. Maria Miglietta of the Smithsonian Tropical Marine Institute."
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What do you think. Is this the key to the secrets of human immortality ? :crazy:

Edit: After a little detective work i noticed this is actually old news, but still intresting nonetheless.
 
Even so, it will probably be just reserved for the rich.

Might be funny though, them truly having to become spineless in order to achieve immortality.
 
I've never really been said nor found otherwise, but lobsters are really immortal. They keep growing and keep living, indefinitely, the only way they die is from predation, accident or illness. And it's more than just reverting to a primitive stage of life, lobsters keep growing and show no sign of old age, even improving with time, so it is believed that some 50kg lobsters roam the deep....
I've always loved this story, and I don't really care if I'm proven wrong ! :P
 
If you went back to a single cell stage and then regrew your entire body, you would lose all of your memories and most of what makes you "you", so effectively you wouldn't live longer, your stream of counsciousness would be severed and "you" would be gone. I'd say telomeres are more promising, if anything, but considering most of us die of heart disease or cancer etc it's hard to say if it would make much difference at this point. I've heard, from people over at the pathology department, that it's comparatively hard to get grants for research on senescence and aging.
 
@Santoka: doubt it. Cthulhu couldn't possibly pass up such a snack, so they'd all be dead long before they'd reach 50 kg.

@Dead Guy: i concur. it serves little purpose to be immortal if it means you have to loose everything that makes you "you".
in the same sense, some people strive for immortality through transfer of conciousness to another being or a machine, but wouldn't you effectively kill yourself and have a copy of yourself at that stage? yes, the copy might be exactly the same as yourself, but can conciousness be transferred (theoretically speaking) or are people fooling themselves? it might be worthwhile for your loved ones and such, but you yourself would probably be dead. :)
 
Yeah, i suppose that would kind of defeat the purpose if you lost all of your memories in the process. Maybe there could be way to "regenerate" spesific body parts only. Anything but brain that is. I have no idea if this would be possible in any way, just playing around with ideas.
 
The Dutch Ghost said:
Even so, it will probably be just reserved for the rich.

Might be funny though, them truly having to become spineless in order to achieve immortality.
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Sounds like the Liberals got the drop on us! Quick boys cut out your spines!
 
Also immortal

"It has often been assumed that hydras are one of the few animals that do not undergo senescence (aging), and so are biologically immortal. Evidence for this was provided by Martinez (1998)."
 
Here's one in action:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJXHiLuKw0s&feature=related[/youtube]

Jellyfish are awesome. I'm pretty sure they're on the verge of taking over the planet.

Also: jellyfish have no brains, so no memories. And no heart. And no blood. No gills. No complex nervous system. But they can smell, think and move themselves.

Heh?
 
Mutoes said:
Yeah, i suppose that would kind of defeat the purpose if you lost all of your memories in the process. Maybe there could be way to "regenerate" spesific body parts only. Anything but brain that is. I have no idea if this would be possible in any way, just playing around with ideas.
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It's quite possible. Salamanders can grow back body parts for example. We have evolved a different kind of wound healing because regerneration is a slow process. An open wound leaves you wide open to infection, and back in the day, infection meant death or at the very least serious disability. Thus, the system of wound healing we have now evolved, which seals the wound incredibly quick, but as a consequence other tissue is formed and you get a scar. Today, with sanitation and "western" medicine, it would be much more beneficial to regenerate.

Regeneration could probably be triggered in humans, but this involves activating complex networks of transcription factors and genes to fool stem cells that they are in an embryo and are supposed to form an organ or limb of choice, or something along those lines.

Also, kill the jellyfish before they kill you!
 
Gosh, I'd love to be immortal. But not like this jellyfish. I prefer keeping my memories, unlike in Planescape: Torment.
 
MrBumble said:
Being a jellyfish for eternity...must suck.
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I dont think so :

alec said:
Also: jellyfish have no brains, so no memories. And no heart. And no blood. No gills. No complex nervous system. But they can smell, think and move themselves.

Heh?
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Do something stupid. But dont remember it later. Get divorced. But dont feel anything about it. Have some sex and never regret it.

Sounds like fun doesnt it :mrgreen:


But to be more serious that is as interesting like that amphibian creature that can regenerate limbs, organs and even less vital parts of its brain :shock:

Yeah its the good old Axolotl, a real beauty aint it ?

667px-Ambystoma_mexicanum_1.jpg


Anyone still thinking humans are "superior" to most animals ?
 
"The turritopsis nutricula species of jellyfish may be the only animal in the world to have truly discovered the fountain of youth.

Since it is capable of cycling from a mature adult stage to an immature polyp stage blah blah
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Yeah, yeah, STFU already, science fag.

Because they are able to bypass death, the number of individuals is spiking. They're now found in oceans around the globe rather than just in their native Caribbean waters. "We are looking at a worldwide silent invasion," says Dr. Maria Miglietta of the Smithsonian Tropical Marine Institute."
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The only truly important part of the article. You heard the woman. Nuke the oceans before it's too late.

Anyone still thinking humans are "superior" to most animals ?
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Can animals dump napalm on communist insurgents while blasting Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries from helicopter-mounted speakers? No? Then humans are still superior.
 
what reason do you have to squeak ? Youre a just a ratty :p

By the way I personaly doubt the capacity of building weapons of mass destruction is some expression of real advantage.

From our point of view, as humans we see our self supperior to almost all creatures we know on this planet. But we see this as as said from "our" point and measure inteligence with our language and defintions.

Technology is for me not a measure for success. Not when looking at it on the side of evolution.

There are liveforms which had at least as much time like we in their evolution and some even more. When thinking about the tree of life a lot of creatures didnt stoped in their evolution


I doubt really that we can measure "success" or "superiority" just on a few factors. Some creatures like virus or bacterias have been longer around then we and they have no weapons, they do not build some defence, recruit soldiers or builid some army, nor can we see, smell or really feel them as they dont build any cities and structurs. Yet they have the potential to kill all of us or at least destroy the civilisation we know given the right circumstances like certain viral hemorrhagic fevers. Evolution for many of them hasnt simply stoped. This lifeforms are extremly succesfull in their habitat and have proven to survive for the last milion of years. And we still didnt managed to find ways how to solve the potential danger bacterias and particuiliarly viruses display.

And the idea about superiority regarding animals or the idea we have about their inteligence still needs a lot of research. Many believe animals only react by instincts or would just act based on their usual behaviour. But many miracles show that there is a lot more behind them then we might see or admit.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpfvkeo0KBc[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JiJzqXxgxo[/youtube]
 
Santoka said:
lobsters keep growing and show no sign of old age, even improving with time, so it is believed that some 50kg lobsters roam the deep....
I've always loved this story, and I don't really care if I'm proven wrong ! :P
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It's true, man!
Lobsterman.png
 
fedaykin said:
Santoka said:
lobsters keep growing and show no sign of old age, even improving with time, so it is believed that some 50kg lobsters roam the deep....
I've always loved this story, and I don't really care if I'm proven wrong ! :P
Click to expand...
It's true, man!
Lobsterman.png
Click to expand...

Dead Guy has panicked!

(The crazy thing is that I was just playing Terror from the deep right before I decided to check the forum)
 
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