Back in the 1990s, it was discovered that a certain type of jellyfish, Turritopsis nutricul, had the ability to revert from a mature stage of its lifecycle back into a more youthful one, and to repeat the process indefinitely, thereby granting it an indefinite - immortal - lifespan.
Nature being what it is, this rarely happens "in the wild" as they are likely to die from other causes such as, well, being eaten. But the biological mechanism they employ to achieve this effect - transdifferentiation - is one that current stem cell researchers are actively pursuing in their own search for causes and cures of a wide variety of our own ailments, and stem cells are a major player in the new science of human biological immortality.
Just this past week, the Obama administration announced that it would make 13 additional stem cell lines eligible for federal funding, funding that was once again made available after the administration lifted the ban on stem cell research instated by Obama's predecessor George W. Bush.
Stem cell research, and the therapies that will come from the groundwork being layed by today's scientists, represents the most significant contribution to the biological sciences and medicine that we have ever seen. Whether we ethically pursue the use of embryonic stem cells, or investigate ways to transdifferentiate adult stem cells into a pluripotent form, therapies that are born of such research will forever change what it means to be human.
From simple healing of wounds to treatment of cancers, Alzheimer's, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and deeply genetic disorders and diseases, stem cell research has the potential to heal the sick, and perhaps more profoundly, help healthy adults pursue active, healthy, vibrant life well into old age, and if our jellyfish is any example, perhaps indefinitely.
