When it comes to looks, women exhibit more concern about their physical appearance

than men. Fear and an unwillingness to accept the unavoidable effects of aging forces them to

resort to anti-aging drugs, and when all else fails - Botox. Unfortunately, even the costly

procedure of a face-lift simply provides a feigning escape from the inevitable decay of the body.

In 2010, Americans spent nearly $10.7 billion on cosmetic procedures

(www.cosmeticplasticsurgerystatistics.com), which were not medically necessary and often not

covered by their medical insurance. As humans, the idea of getting old is traumatic; hence, men

and woman seek to stay looking youthful. If a man or a woman was asked the question “Would

you want to live forever?” they would likely answer, “Yes.” Regardless of their gender, or race,

people seek the Fountain of Youth.

Despite medical doctors, such as dermatologists and plastic surgeons, being hailed as the

Gurus of attempting to reverse the aging process, it was a little known twenty year old biologist

who inadvertently tapped into the secrets of immortality. In 1988, a marine biologist by the

name of Sommer, who spent his summer in Rapallo, on the Italian Riviera, began his research.

Though most tourists visit the Rapallo area to see its historical monuments, Sommer dedicated

his time to research on hydrozoans – small animals living in seawater such as jellyfish and coral

(Wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrozoa). One morning, while surveying the murky ocean floor, Sommer

spotted a comparatively insignificant organism, almost as small as a half-shaven pencil eraser.

Sommer collected the mysterious organism by using a net. After arriving at his cluttered

apartment, Sommer placed the organism into a petri dish and grouped it alongside the other

hydrozoans in the small nook of his room. Upon returning to his make-shift laboratory, he

realized the organism’s identity: Turritopsis Dohrnii. He thought he had a notable new species

to boast. To his surprise Sommer, the discovery of the Mediterranean species occurred five years

earlier, in 1883 (news.nationalgeographic.com).

After learning of the organism’s prior discovery, Sommer dismissed his specimen as

insignificant and commenced his research on the hydrozoans. During the first two days, Sommer

did not identify any significant observations on the hydrozoans, scribbling a few trivial notes on

their behavior. He spent most of his time performing cultures on the hydrozoans- a tedious task

which though mundane kept him preoccupied throughout the extensive research process. On the

fourth day, Sommer noticed a discrepancy in the reproductive behavior of the Turritopsis

Dohrnii. As the days progressed, Sommer’s interest in the specimen continued to grow, yet his

findings puzzled him. They contradicted a fundamental law of life: all organisms decay over

time and die. Sommer observed these organisms reversing their aging process. He “…could [not

hypothesize an] earthly explanation” (www.nytimes.com). Unable to fully comprehend his

observations, and reluctant to report his hypothesis for fear of being discredited as a scientist, the

public remained uninformed of his discovery for nearly a decade.

Fortunately, a group of scientists intrigued by Sommer’s observations, continued

studying the hydrozoan and affirmed his hypothesis: As stress encroached, the Hydrozoan

organisms began reversing their aging cycle, reverting to their initial stage and repeating their

life cycle anew (www.nytimes.com). The Hydrozoans were capable of performing a reversal of

the aging process, which has never been observed in any living organism. Regardless of whether

the organism was debilitated, starved, or threatened they thrived under insurmountable stresses

and reversed their decaying or aging. Even predatory animals, which could inflict potential harm,

spurred the Turritopsis to prosper indefinitely. Science had finally contradicted one of the

fundamental laws of life. Imagine the potential for curing illness by having cells within our

bodies rejuvenate themselves. Here was finally a significant advancement that could be applied

to improving the human race’s health, and it was not making headlines.

Unraveling the mystery behind the organism’s immortality could increase the longevity

of human life or, at the very least, improve humans’ well-being in their final stages of life. Why

was the science community ignoring these miraculous findings? Regrettably, their impassive

reaction to this profound discovery was presumably due to the lack of scientists trained in the

area required to further study the specimen. According to James Carlton, professor of marine

sciences at Williams College, “Finding really good hydroid experts is very difficult. You’re

lucky to have one or two people in a country” (www.nytimes.com).

Given the difficulty in finding a maritime scientist in this particular field, it is fortunate

one of these scientists proceeded to gather insight on these species. In a small beach town off the

coast of Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, Shin Kubota cultivates the Turritopsis Dohrni successfully

(www.nytimes.com). Kubota lives in a secluded area off the shoreline of Shirahama, a tranquil

and pristine seascape (Wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirahama). However, commercial development

and tourism poses a threat to Kubota’s sanctuary. At nearly 60 years of age, Kubota remains

optimistic for the town and for his continued research. Kubota visits his laboratory every day

to culture his Turritopsis. Cluttered with papers, disorderly equipment and other misplaced

objects, Kubota tirelessly works in his cubicle-sized laboratory. The petri dishes containing the

Turritopsis Dohrni are displayed haphazardly on top of a mini-refrigerator in the middle of the

laboratory (www.nytimes.com). Thankfully, Kubota is continuing to further the research on

Hydrozoans.

Most scientists find the task of incorporating the Turritopsis’ genetic code into beneficial

medical purposes far too intimidating and are reluctant to provide any sure claims as to whether

or not the Turritopsis will advance medicine in any way (www.nytimes.com). However,

Kubota’s bizarre level of optimism gives him the resolve to delve into the research behind the

Turritopsis’ biology and to hopefully discover the benefits to the field of medicine.

In an interview with a college graduate from the University of Miami, who

prefers to remain anonymous, I asked whether immortality was of any interest to her and, if so,

what the benefit would be to humanity or if she believed immortality should not be tampered

with. She responded by saying, “I do not believe immortality should be tampered with because

of my religious beliefs. However, I think it would be a very helpful study to conduct given that

from advancements in science we have been able to increase the quality and longevity of life.” It

is an understandable presumption that discovering the “fountain of youth” would have ethical

ramifications. If we had the same ability to reverse the life cycle as the jellyfish, our genes would

be the blueprint for the cellular regeneration. In essence, our physical structure and organs would

be an exact copy of the original. However, the regenerated organism would not share the same

memories as the prior organism. By having a new replica or copy of the old organism, we would

be diving into cloning the human race. The clones would be duplicates of the original

organism’s structure, but would be stripped of the source’s experiences and memories – a new

world of human replicas could emerge without the authenticity or uniqueness expected.

In another interview with a graduate from Northwestern, who prefers to remain

anonymous, I asked “What effect would discovering the key to immortality have on the world?”

He provided the following response: “Finding the key to immortality would be an incredible feat

for humanity. However, although at first glance a scientific revolution like that would be helpful

to humanity, in the long run it could have devastating effects on society, such as overpopulation,

which could have negative effects on the delicate balance of nature.” If everyone was potentially

immortal, there would be a significant decrease in the death rate as the birth rate would continue

to rise. Land, energy and food would become scarce resources. If not handled with care,

immortality could impede our society’s progress in the long run. However, if these organisms

prove to hold the key to a major advancement in medicine for the benefit of human life, we

would be irresponsible to ignore such findings.


































Sources

Peterson, Lainie. "How Does Cosmetics Advertising Work?" wiseGeek. wiseGeek, 23

Nov. 2012. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. <http://www.wisegeek.com/

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Rich, Nathaniel. "Can a Jellyfish Unlock the Secret of Immortality?" The New

York Times [New York] 28 Nov. 2012: n. pag. Print.

Schuchert, Peter. "Hydrozoa." Wikipedia. By Robert D. Barnes and J. Boullion,

M.D. N.p.: n.p., 2013. Print.

"Shirahama, Wakayama." Wikipedia. N.p.: n.p., 2013. 1. Print.

Than, Ker. "'Immortal' Jellyfish Swarm World's Oceans." National Geographic News

29 Jan. 2009: 1-2. Print.