Quote (penguinhero @ Wed, Jul 8 2009, 07:14am)

Say hello to Turritopsis Nutricula.  Chances are, this individual little jellyfish might have been around before you were born and could be around centuries after you and I are dead.

Scientists have discovered the amazing fact that once this barely visible animal mates after becoming sexually mature, it reverts back to a younger state through a process called transdifferentiation.  In layman's terms, the jellyfish matures, reproduces, and then grows younger in a process that scientists think can happen indefinitely meaning that the Turritopsis Nutricula is basically an immortal creature that never grows old and, barring disease or being eaten, will never die.

Scientists and geneticists are busy studying this tiny animal to determine more about how it lives and lives and lives.


http://www.slightlywarped.com/crapfactory/curiosities/images/immort2.jpg