Check out the nearly immortal creatures in the natural world

American lobsters, hydrology, jellyfish or Bristlecone pine can all be killed by peripheral factors. But without these disadvantages, they can live for hundreds to thousands of years. What is the secret of these creatures?

5 creatures are almost "immortal" in the natural world

Although Tardigrade bears are almost "unmatched" by extreme conditions such as temperature, pressure, vacuum, radiation, but they still die like any other creature. Their cells eventually grow old and they die. While the four species mentioned above, though not "buffaloes " with water bears, they have a very long lifespan that, to some extent, almost reach immortality!

1. Bristlecone Information

Most notably, the Bristlecone pine species lives in North America. They have sprung up there over 5,000 years ago, at the same time that Troy in Turkey was built! Through many ups and downs of human history, changing dynasties, Bristlecone pine still lives well and healthy in arid lands. However, time also rises on these ancient "super" trees with many "wrinkles".

Bristlecone pine has a lifespan of thousands of years

Howard Thomas, of Aberystwyth University (England), describes Bristlecone's life: " The trees were beaten up by time. They were struck by lightning, buckled by the weight of the heavy snowy winters. , their branches are broken by the wind ". From the outside, Bristlecone trees look "austere" , but inside they are a different story.

One of the scary things about long-term survival is that cells will mutate from toxic substances accumulated in the environment. But over the five millennia, the Bristlecone doesn't seem to change much. A study in 2001 compared dust and pollen of this species at the present stage and returned to earlier times, lasting up to 4,700 years ago, indicating that they were nearly mutant. Not to mention, the vascular tissue in the old trees is still " robust" as young trees just arrived at adolescence.

Although the outside is worn out by the time, the Bristlecone is still "young " as the Trojan era was erected as well as when it was destroyed by the Odyssey.

"Stamp" time is printed on each shell

But how did this plant " hack" old death? Unfortunately, Bristlecone's strong vitality has not been fully studied. Only a few hypotheses are proposed to explain the problem.

According to Thomas Bosch, of the University of Kiel (Germany), the secret of Bristlecone probably lies in the meristem layer. There are locations in the roots and buds where stem cells are located. These are cells that will produce new cells that help the plant grow. According to observation, these stem cells seem to have remained unchanged for thousands of years. "When you have cells mutating in your body, things can go wrong. However like the bacterial populations, Bristlecone's non-mutant cells appear to be healthier than damaged cells. " . And so, healthy stem cells continue to hatch other healthy cells.

Another explanation comes from Lieven De Veylder, of Ghent University (Belgium), also based on meristems. But according to him, low mutations come from "quiet centers". Here, the cells divide at a low level. The rate of mitosis seems to be inhibited and it helps limit the risk of DNA mutations, which come from rapid cell division. "Limiting the stem cell populations that divide frequently can be an almost perfect way to protect genetic information."

Plant cells are carrying out cell division

In 2013, De Veylder's group identified a protein that seemed to control activity levels in "quiet centers ", called Arabidopsis. Similar proteins like Arabidopsis may have helped some Bristlecone-like plants limit their aging , allowing them to live for hundreds or thousands of years.

2. Sea clam

But that is the plant world. The animals, anyway, may be due to deeper cell division than plants, may also be due to the continuous movement of animals so the animal cells are "older" , leading to shorter lifespans. Here, the saying "live fast, die" (live fast, die young) seems quite reasonable when comparing animals and plants.

However, there is one exception: coral (which is an animal). Coral reefs have a lifespan of up to 4,000 years. But the single coral polyps are only a few years old. Anyway, the coral's "style" is closer to plants than animals. They stood clinging all their lives to the cliffs like any other tree. Perhaps " inhaling deeply, breathing slowly " is the eternal secret of this species.

Ming, the clam of the sea clam is the longest living man ever knew

But just standing one place for a lifetime cannot be called true animals.Animals choose to move out of their habitats to avoid the risk of becoming a menu of other species, as well as to actively seek out places with more food, or to avoid adverse changes of the lips. school In return, animals have a lower life expectancy, in return, they are more likely to " explore" the world.

A record of longevity in the animal world is held by a sea ​​clam , up to 507 years old. But the tragic thing is . you could have lived much longer if you hadn't been picked up by scientists in 2006 in Iceland and . made him die! Named the clam Ming ( Ming Dynasty) because he was born at the same time as the Ming Dynasty in China. Surviving many human events, I did not expect to die because of . science!

Who knows these clam exchanged for historical events?

But how can Ming live so long? This is a common characteristic of this two-piece mollusk. Unlike other animals, the membrane of nearly unscathed clam comes from interacting with oxygen-containing molecules, which will produce smaller molecules and damage other components of the cell. cell. So biologically, clam species seem to be immortal because the cells do not break down over the years, similar to the Bristlecone pine.

However, it does not mean 507 is the largest number that clam species can achieve. Ming's age can be confirmed by the number of growth rings on its shell. Like plants, clams increase in size over time by creating new shells alongside the old ones. Biologists counted these classes to determine Ming's age. But by Ming " unfortunately " was caught by people. Maybe many other clams are " longer" than Ming but not "found" yet.

3. Water news

Meanwhile, measuring the age of clam-like species "months " is a challenge for biologists. Instant water (hydra) is such a case. Compared to similar sized species, this mollusca is nearly immortal when adults are only 1.5 cm long.

Although small, water is very long

In the laboratory, biologists note that this tiny animal has lived up to four years since it split the bud. More noticeably, until the experiment ended, the witch was still "young" just like the first day was born. It means that if you keep watching, your age will increase. However, due to "limited " human life, Daniel Martinez , the author of the study, cannot prolong the experiment. But he concluded that water could be immortal.

But how can water be used for a long time? Currently, biology cannot be answered. Although based on the ability to renew the body continuously, some people think that water can live up to 10,000 years if his whole life does not suffer from disease or other species destroy!

Where is the water "mother", where is the water "son"?

So what is the secret of water? It is the strong regeneration of stem cells in the body, similar to Bristlecone pine. These stem cells are so powerful that even if you have " minced" the water, it will become many pieces, each of which will develop into a new baby. This is also the reason that water in English is called Hydra - a monster with many heads in Greek mythology , every time a head is cut, it grows 2 new heads!

The ability to regenerate above to help water is nearly immortal, it is also a method to help this species reproduce. Water means no gender . This ancient creature used a method of splitting buds from a position on the body and a new one from a mother. But because it is asexual reproduction , if you do not follow it closely, you will not know if it is the young and the mother when they have the same size.

The FoxO protein is clinging to a DNA sequence (below).

Recently, scientists have deciphered the key of stem cells in water. Thuy has three different types of stem cells, but all three share a protein called FoxO. Scientists are not sure how FoxO works, but it seems to prevent cell aging . Bosch said: " If you remove the genes that make FoxO out of water, then you make the water grow old." What is more special is that in people who are more than a hundred years old, some variants of this protein are also found.

4. Sea jellyfish

Another almost immortal case is sea ​​jellyfish. But the secret of this mollusk's " sinine h" is a little different from the above species - "don't live sex for a long time!"

First of all, let's talk about the life cycle of jellyfish. When the sperm and eggs of this species meet, they form zygotes and grow into larvae. But the larvae do not grow directly into the complete jellyfish, but "fall" to the sea floor and form a branched branched polyp . The polyp sprouts continue to clone similarly to the water into other polyps. Later, the polyps sprouted on jellyfish and they just started having sex. Then these mature jellyfish produce sperm and eggs to repeat the cycle.

Today is "adult", tomorrow is "minor

The most noticeable detail here is that sea jellyfish have " delayed " their oestrus. They can " puberty" whenever they want and at the time of undivided sex , sea jellyfish are not old at all! Only when they become clear males, is this species aging. But even after " puberty" , this marine creature can " turn back time " back into a polyp germ, and continue its immortality!

However, the secret of the jellyfish's immortality has not been revealed. Scientists predict that stem cells may also be the answer in this case. They can grow strong enough to replace old, weakened normal cells. But at the "puberty" stage, it seems that having to become " different " is beyond the ability of stem cells. And the process of reproduction requires the body to spend a lot of resources to the point of losing the life of the organism.

Immortal?May

Bosch commented: "You can argue that the creation of gametes (eggs and sperm) will cost a lot of energy, so the organism will die by that process."

But that is the case of jellyfish. There are still some other species whether " sex or not sex" , they still live very long.

5. American lobster

Although not as long-lived as the above-mentioned species, the longest living pattern recorded is 140 years old - but this marine species has a capacity that everyone wants.American lobsters can regrow an entire body if unfortunately it is lost by accident.

Even losing the more, American lobsters can still regrow!

Of course, this powerful regeneration also helps this species replace old and weak cells with other healthy cells. From that allows it to " longevity".

According to the study, the capacity seems to be related to changes in the DNA of lobster species. The chromosomes of animals have a special point on their ends, called telomeres . Telomeres work to protect the DNA inside from being damaged.

But in the process of mitosis and duplication of chromosomes, telomeres are gradually reduced in length. The cause of this is the enzymes used to synthesize new DNA from the original " unreadable " DNA to the same chromosome. Scientists realize that the shorter the telomeres, the lower the life cycle of cells.

But for American lobsters, they have " been" able to process the process by creating a special enzyme that "extends" the telomeres, called telomerase . A study in 1998 showed that the enzyme is present in every organ of this species. It has been deduced that it helps lobster cells stay healthy and have a constant lifespan no matter how many times they divide.

Find the eternal excipient?

Understanding the secrets of these organisms, scientists can theoretically find a way to help people become immortal. But why haven't we done it yet?

Bristlecone pine is a special case when it is a plant species. Large differences between animal and plant bodies are the biggest obstacle for us to " learn by ". Meanwhile, sea clam or sea jellyfish are creatures that have not much evolutionary level like birds, animals and reptiles. They do not have many complex organelles like the heart, liver, lungs, lymphatic system . So their simulation of stem cell models is unlikely to work with humans or other high-level animals.

Telomere segments (purple) at the ends of the chromosomes

Particularly the way of lobster can be considered the most suitable choice because we can synthesize enzymes . But do not rush to celebrate. In fact, mammals including humans also carry telomerase. But in this case, telomerase is a bad thing.

More than 60 years ago, scientists have for the first time identified an "immortal" cell in the human body. It was named HeLa cell and it was separated from . a patient with cervical cancer. This unfortunate patient died in the same year HeLa was discovered.

HeLa, the first human immortal cell is recorded

You probably already know, cancer is an abnormal cell that is capable of mutant and powerful growth. They do not " die old" like normal cells. Scientists found that the growth of tumors seemed to be "fueled" by telomerase! And the patient's life is the price to pay when the longevity of these cells is prolonged.

However, there is another type of cell that is almost "immortal " in the animals' bodies. These are the embryonic cells used to create sperm or eggs. It seems unbelievable, but telomeres on these cells are not shortened by multiple cell division. And the zygote after conception still has a full length of telomeres, not shortened like other cells in the parent's body. So even if you have children in your 20s or 30s or 40s, the children born by you still have their own lifespan.

"Clones" Dolly is dead at age 6

The case of Dolly "cloned" sheep is the reverse example of this. Dolly is nurtured from her mammary gland cells. These are cells that are " aging " over time as telomeres have been shortened. So even though Dolly has the body of a lamb, the actual age of her cells is much larger than her life. After all, Dolly died when she was six years old because of lung disease.

Dolly's example shows that embryonic cells are really immortal cells. Because thanks to them, our future generations have a full life, not shortened before. And that has lasted for millions of years. So in a way, it is possible that each person will die old over time, but our lineage will remain alive until we are no longer able to reproduce.