Since antiquity, the quest for immortality has been one of the most enduring missions of man. Unfortunately, every time man has tried to defeat nature, they have lost the race because the desired immortality has already been achieved by nature. Unlike humans, a particular species of jellyfish, called Turritopsis Nutricula has accomplished what no other biological being on our planet has ever been known to do: reverse it’s aging.
After becoming sexually mature, this species returns to its polyp state thanks to a biological process called transdifferentiation, in which a cell (without being a stem cell) can become a completely different cell. This process allows an organ tissue to regenerate after suffering an injury, and this ability is triggered in jellyfish when they are threatened. This unique characteristic of the Turritopsis nutricula would be breathtaking to behold, like watching a butterfly become caterpillar again.
The existence of this unique creature has been known for over a decade, and its method of transdifferentiation has inspired scientists to find a way to make stem cells use this process for renewing damaged or dead tissue in humans. Understanding and translating this process into human genes would be helpful to the many aging-related ailments we face, but there lies an obstacle as well: jellyfish are one of the world’s simplest creatures. As a consequence, transdifferentiation may be possible only because jellyfish don’t have a brain or a body with more than one or two organs. However, we know that it is quite different with humans, a much more complex and delicate species. For instance, would a person with a regenerated brain be the same as the person we knew before? Or someone else entirely? Is the Turritopsis a guide to where we’re going, or just a mirage in the desert, showing us immortality but never letting us achieve it?
Now I invite to hear this excellent video about Turritopsis
Here you can read a research paper on this amazing jellyfish
