Nature has a lot more surprises in store.
Since TIME is circular and not linear(read my blog on TIME), this story is true and that we are more than what we think we are,this body and mind.
“Most jellyfish have a lifespan of between a few hours to a few months, though a few varieties can live for several years. The king of them all though in terms of biological lifespan is the Turritopsis Nutricula which can potentially live forever. They can grow old like every other living thing, but then have the unique ability to reverse this process and grow young again. Of course, their bid for immortality is hindered by the fact that they only grow to a maximum of around 1/5 of an inch in diameter on their bell, so they are easy prey for many animals. However, in theory, they cannot died of old age; the only known living thing to be able to achieve this.
The Turritopsis Nutricula begins life much like most jellyfish. The male jelly will release its sperm into the water and it may unite with the egg of a female jelly. Eventually this will produce planulae (free swimming larva) that leaves the body of the female jelly and float around until finally settling on the sea floor and attaching to something sturdy like a rock. It then forms into a stationary polyp that will eventually look like a plant. This polyp feeds on various things like plankton and over time a colony of polyps will form from the single polyp, all connected via feeding tubes. At a certain point, sometimes even years later, the colony of polyps will begin producing free swimming jellyfish.
Also like most jellyfish, the Turritopsis Nutricula, once they’re formed into jellyfish, float away with the currents, gathering food as they encounter it. The real miracle of the Turritopsis Nutricula, though, is what happens when food is scarce or they are injured or various other environmental queues occur. These events will trigger a unique mechanism within the Turritopsis Nutricula that causes it to begin to grow younger via transdifferentiation, where their cells are able to change themselves into a new cell. They continue to grow young all the way to the point where they once again become a single polyp, starting the process all over again. They will then remain a polyp for a time, even able to grow a new colony. Once again, at a certain point, free floating jellyfish form and are released from the polyp colony, each with the same genetic code as the original jellyfish that formed the polyp. It is thought that this process can go on without end, assuming the resultant jellyfish don’t die of some disease or aren’t killed by some predator. This effectively makes this tiny jellyfish biologically immortal.
Bonus Factoids:
- It isn’t just fully grown Turritopsis Nutricula that can revert back to the polyp stage. At any point from the time they emerge from a polyp to being fully mature, their bodies can revert back to the polyp stage if environmental factors warrant it.
- Jellyfish sting you through nematocysts. Nematocysts are tiny spine covered tubules. The spines anchor themselves in your skin and when the nematocysts fire, various chemicals are injected into you. In some cases, you may have literally thousands of these nematocysts attached to your skin after being stung by the jellyfish.
- Even after the jellyfish is dead, they can discharge nematocysts, sometimes even days after the death of the jelly, which is why you should be careful playing with a dead jellyfish on a beach.”
http://digg.com/newsbar/topnews/there_is_a_species_of_jellyfish_that_can_age_backwards
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“My husband used to sleep well, but these days, even liquor cannot put him down.” She said when Ngoc went to Da Nang for amedical examination, doctors gave him a clean bill of health, except a minor decline in liver function. Ngoc currently lives on his 5ha farm at the foot of a mountain busy with farming and taking care of pigs and chickens all day. His six children live at their house in Que Trung. Ngoc often does extra farm work or guards his farm at night to prevent theft, saying he used three months of sleeplessnights to dig two large ponds to raise fish.
Bhagat: had his twin brother on his stomach
Yokoi: spent 28 years hidden after WWII
Mitsuo: a japanese Jesus Christ
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