Can anything live forever?
Have you ever wondered if it’ s possible to live forever?
Well, for two kinds of animals, it theoretically is.
The Immortal Jellyfish( Turritopsis)
The immortal Jellyfish is also an invertebrate- an animal with no spine- but this time it lives in saltwater, like seas and oceans.
They grow to about 4.5 millimetres( less than half a centimetre), meaning they’ re probably smaller than your fingertips. Try measuring how small a hydra is next to your hand!
Immortal jellyfish real size
The Hydra and the Immortal Jellyfish( aka Turriptosis) are two biologically immortal animals. This means that if they were left in perfect conditions, they would theoretically be able to live forever. But how do they do this?
The Hydra
The Hydra is an invertebrate- an animal with no spine- found in freshwater. They’ re only 3cm long and can have between 4 and 25 tentacles. These guys have special kinds of cells which continuously multiply to fix injuries. Because of these cells, they also don’ t get older.
Actual picture of a hydra
Immortal Jellyfish also have a special ability- they can return to being babies again.
They can do this if they are too old. But they can also do it when they are stressed or hungry. This allows them to save energy and theoretically live forever.
Actual picture of an immortal jellyfish
Put your hand here to compare your finger to an immortal jellyfish!
So, does this mean that they’ re invincible? Sadly no. They can still be eaten, get sick or become too hungry meaning they’ re not truly immortal.
Still, these guys are pretty cool!
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