Animals That Can Live Young !

             ANIMALS THAT CAN LIVE YOUNG !                

We have come across some movies wherein people fight for reaching the fountain of youth – You may remember the pirates of Caribbean!

Imagine, if there is a possibility of going back to our cycle of youth and restart , won’t  be amazing that one can be young again!

The key lies in a process called trans differentiation, where one type of cell is transformed into another type of cell. As we have discussed last week, some animals can undergo limited trans differentiation and regenerate organs and regrow limbs. Some animals and plants that reproduce asexually "can in principle achieve essentially eternal life," according to a University of Gothenburg press release.

Scientists at the university are studying such species to find out how they avoid aging. So far, one chemical appears to be key: telomerase. This is an enzyme that protects DNA. It is more active in the longest-lived people, so its benefits likely extend throughout the animal kingdom.

The animals that can possibly achieve immortality under ideal conditions, such as sea squirts, certain corals, Hydra, and Turritopsis nutricula (the so called ‘ immortal’ jellyfish), often activate telomerase.

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.

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).

We, Humans already have a population of 7 billion and growing on this planet & let every one of us not live for 500 years -some matters are best when they are according to nature! But, understanding ‘telomerase’ scientist can help tackling Progeria - One in every 4 million children suffers from a genetic disorder called Progeria that causes them to age prematurely.(Ref.Http://news.discovery.com/animals/immortal-animals-reveal-anti-aging-secrets-110421.html)