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Spanish scientists uncover the key to halt ageing through the immortal jellyfish

These immortal jellyfish could be the answer to curing countless ageing-related illnesses

It’s often said that fact is stranger than fiction, and scientists at the University of Oviedo in Spain may just have proven this point by unlocking some of the keys to slowing, and even halting, the ageing process through the study of the immortal jellyfish.

The team of researchers has isolated the genome of the immortal jellyfish (Turritopsis dohrnii) which allows this incredible marine animal to extend its lifespan indefinitely. This tiny medusa, measuring just a few centimetres, has the ability to completely reverse the direction of its life cycle towards an earlier asexual stage called a polyp, effectively achieving immortality.

The vast majority of living beings advance in a characteristic process of ageing that essentially culminates in death, but researchers studying this jellyfish and its deadly sister, Turritopsis rubra, have uncovered the genes responsible for DNA replication and repair, telomere maintenance and renewal of the stem cell population, among others, all of which are associated with longevity and healthy ageing in humans.

An exhaustive study has identified several processes which allow the jellyfish cells to regenerate into completely new cells, thus forming a new organism altogether.

In this sense, Maria Pascual-Torner, from the University of Oviedo points out: "Rather than having a single key to rejuvenation and immortality, the various mechanisms found in our work would act synergistically as a whole, thus orchestrating the process to ensure the successful rejuvenation of the immortal jellyfish."

Somewhat dampening ideas of a Benjamin Button-style age reversal, Carlos López-Otín, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Asturian University, was quick to explain that "this work does not pursue the search for strategies to achieve the dreams of human immortality that some announce, but to understand the keys and limits of the fascinating cellular plasticity that allows some organisms to be able to travel back in time."

With this knowledge, scientists hope to be able to tackle some of the chronic illnesses and diseases associated with ageing.

Image: Flickr

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