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Turritopsis nutricula, the immortal jellyfish, is a hydrozoan whose medusa, or jellyfish, form can revert to the polyp stage after becoming sexually mature. It is the only known case of a metazoan capable of reverting completely to a sexually immature, colonial stage after having reached sexual maturity as a solitary stage.[2][3] It does this through the cell development process of transdifferentiation. Cell transdifferentiation is when the jellyfish "alters the differentiated state of the cell and transforms it into a new cell". In this process the medusa of the immortal jellyfish is transformed into the polyps of a new polyp colony. First, the umbrella reverts itself and then the tentacles and mesoglea get resorbed. The reverted medusa then attaches itself to the substrate by the end that had been at the opposite end of the umbrella and starts giving rise to new polyps to form the new colony. Theoretically, this process can go on indefinitely, effectively rendering the jellyfish biologically immortal,[3][4] although in nature, most Turritopsis, like other medusae, are likely to succumb to predation or disease in the plankton stage, without reverting to the polyp form.[5] No single specimen has been observed for any extended period, so it is not currently possible to estimate the age of an individual, and so even if this species has the potential for immortality, there is no laboratory evidence of many generations surviving from any individual.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turritopsi ... cula  Do you believe that it's immortal?

WOW! interesting info.
and why not, there are a lot of thing that we don't understand yet, but that doesn't mean its magic.

P.S: great post!

it can only live as long as its environment will sustain its inhabitant. Just like humans will only live on the earth till we destroy it to such a point that it can no longer sustain our needs are we start to die off.

Quote:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turritopsis_nutricula  Do you believe that it's immortal?

only until its environment says its time to quite or evolve.

If you will be able to live for the next two million years or whatever people will still call you immortal, we only talk about  biological immortality, nothing more nothing less.

ruplayer Wrote:If you will be able to live for the next two million years or whatever people will still call you immortal, we only talk about  biological immortality, nothing more nothing less.

not an immortal, but it was said this dude either lived for 197 years or 256 years.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Ching-Yuen

Immortal?close enough.

See he made his life longer, but his body isn't biologically immortal. You don't get my point This thing lives forever if all conditions around it still the same - this is immortal.

agreed. i was just saying though that the environment aournd it wont stay the same, but f it where to stay the same way then yes it would be Immortal