A bizarre alien-looking species that has spread throughout the world’s waters are almost immortal. Turritopsis dohrnii, sometimes known as the “immortal jellyfish,” is a kind of jellyfish that can survive being agitated. The jellyfish reverts to its coral-like polyp stage, similar to how a butterfly reverts to a caterpillar. Then it transforms back into a jellyfish, avoiding death entirely.
Scientists didn’t recognize how special this small critter is until the 1990s. The Benjamin Button jellyfish, on the other hand, is becoming more well-known. Could the everlasting jelly hold the key to curing cancer or possibly unlocking the mysteries of human immortality?
This isn’t exactly a novel concept. As we’ll find, the notion extends back thousands of years to one of the first works of writing.
Is There a Coral-Like Key to Immortality Floating in the Seas?
Many experts today disagree that the jellyfish holds the answer to immortality. One of the world’s foremost specialists, on the other hand, disagrees. Shin Kubota of Kyoto University in Japan is optimistic.
Kubota told a New York Times writer, “Turritopsis application for human beings is the most magnificent dream of mankind.” “Once we figure out how the jellyfish regenerates itself, we should be able to accomplish incredible things.” In my perspective, mankind will progress and eventually become immortal.”
Kubota is one of just a few persons in the world who has kept a jellyfish colony in captivity for over 15 years. Although they may survive under certain severe conditions, they are difficult to artificially maintain and require regular feedings.
Dr. Maria Pia Miglietta of Texas A&M University is another expert that studies jellyfish. “The Holy Grail of regenerative medicine,” she calls what she’s discovered about Turritopsis’ processes.
Transdifferentiation’s Powers Unlocked
Transdifferentiation allows the immortal jellyfish to change its cells. Muscle cells in jelly can therefore transform into nerve cells, sperm, or egg cells. Transdifferentiation, on the other hand, is not specific to jellyfish and may be generated in mice.
Furthermore, stem cells in humans have comparable properties across the body. Is it feasible that as more scientists study Turritopsis dohrnii and stem cells, people will learn how to skip the stem cell stage and harness their transformative abilities?
Will individuals be able to revert to a more youthful condition in the future? It’s conceivable.
An Ancient Text Reveals the Secret to Immortality
Is it possible for humans to achieve immortality? It seems like something out of a science fiction novel. The concept, on the other hand, is centuries old, stretching back thousands of years before science fiction was invented in Babylonian mythology.
Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, finds a secret to immortality in the Epic of Gilgamesh, which dates back at least 5,000 years. It sounds eerily similar to the immortal jellyfish, which is quietly spreading over the globe now in the ballasts of ships.
Utnapishtim, Gilgamesh, and the Search for Eternal Life
Gilgamesh embarks on a quest for eternal life in the Gilgamesh epic. He contacts the renowned sage Utnapishtim, the sole man to escape a vast global flood, in his quest.
They protected animal and human life on a large yacht that he and his wife built. Yes, it sounds identical to Noah’s tale in the Bible, but it precedes the Bible story.
In a 2014 review of the Noah film, Time magazine recognized the parallels between Gilgamesh and Noah’s Ark from the Bible:
“The Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh is regarded to be the world’s earliest written story, dating back over 5,000 years. There is a story about the renowned sage Utnapishtim, who is forewarned of a coming deluge by wrathful gods. He constructs a massive circular-shaped boat out of tar and pitch that transports his families, grains, and animals. Utnapishtim, like Noah in Genesis, releases a bird in search of dry land after days of storms.” The Flood In The Epic Of Gilgamesh, Tablet XI, And A Comparison To The Flood In The Bible
Utnapishtim, like Noah, lives, but Enlil grants him and his wife immortality. As a result, they are the forefathers of a new human race.
At the Bottom of the Sea, There’s a Secret.
Is it possible that Utnapishtim, whose gods bestowed immortality, knew the key to immortality? Gilgamesh discovers the mystery at the sea’s bottom after finally locating the eternal sage.
Utnapishtim first informs Gilgamesh that only the gods have the power to give immortality. Then he admits that there could be a method to revitalize and return to a younger condition. He then tells Gilgamesh about a “plant” he discovered at the ocean’s bottom. This plant might hold the key to a longer life, if not immortality.
As a result, Gilgamesh sets out to discover the “plant that resembles a box-thorn,” often known as a coral. He eventually loses it – to a snake.
“Gilgamesh acquires the plant by attaching stones to his feet and walking on the sea’s bottom. He intends to utilize the flower to revitalize the city of Uruk’s elderly men before using it himself. Unfortunately, when bathing, he leaves the plant on the bank of a lake, where it is grabbed by a serpent, who loses its old skin and is thus reborn.”
Is It True That An Ancient Legend Has Come True?
Is it possible that one of the world’s earliest tales is about the eternal jellyfish? When a jellyfish is wounded, it might sink to the ocean’s bottom. Then it transforms into a blob, which then develops into a plant-like polyp.
Indeed, there are significant parallels between Gilgamesh’s narrative and the true account of the immortal jellyfish.
Perhaps, unlike Gilgamesh, science will one day find the secrets of rejuvenation or, if not immortality, a treatment for cancer and brain sickness. Scientists have already figured out a way to convert adult mice’s cells to become youthful stem cells.
In recent years, scientists have discovered that jellyfish may represent one of our most distant ancient ancestors: the root of the Tree of Life.
