Extreme Survivors

Among the many ways in which we could learn more about the ageing process and improve our longevity, one helpful approach is to study species on Earth that have already managed, through their own evolution, to avert this process to a significant extent.

Some of them are very successful indeed. But no one, so far, seems to be more successful in deceiving the restrictions on the lifespan than one small jellyfish. Its Latin name is Turritopsis dohrnii. Understanding how it succeeds brings us to one of the most spectacular Nobel Prizes in the history of science, which was awarded to Sir John Gourdon and Dr Shinya Yamanaka.

All species on Earth continue to mutate and evolve. Through mutations, they also acquire properties that could defy the processes of aging, disease and death. Therefore, scientists today are increasingly interested in understanding the genetic code of all species on Earth. Some of them are particularly interesting because they possess traits that seem truly supernatural compared to the overwhelming majority of other life forms. Some organisms in nature leave scientists in awe, wondering about what kind f evolutionary path they went through to acquire abilities that no other species seems to even come close to.

If some advanced civilization from space arrived on Earth, perhaps its most interesting form of life would be the tardigrade. Also known…