The Biological Time Machine
Measuring under 5 millimeters across (smaller than a pinky fingernail), Turritopsis dohrnii holds the secret to biological immortality. When standard jellyfish reach old age or suffer physical trauma, they die. When the immortal jellyfish gets sick, wounded, or starves, it undergoes transdifferentiation.
“Instead of dying, the jellyfish absorbs its tentacles, settles onto the seafloor as a blob of undifferentiated tissue, and grows into a brand new polyp colony within days.”
Infinite Replay Loop
Its adult specialized cells (muscle cells, nerve cells) literally revert back into primitive stem cells, building a whole new generation of genetically identical clones. In laboratory conditions, individual jellyfish have repeated this reverse-aging cycle countless times without any natural lifespan limit.
