Flatworms might hold the key to immortality

didnt see this on ats so here you go,

British researchers believe that the worms, which live in ponds and lakes, could live forever after examining their ability to repeatedly regenerate.


Experts from Nottingham University managed to create a colony of more than 20,000 flatworms from one original by chopping it into pieces and observing each section grow into a new complete worm.


They believe that it could help scientists develop new methods to allow humans to stay younger for longer.


"Our data satisfy one of the predictions about what it would take for an animal to be potentially immortal," Aziz Aboobaker, who led the research.


"The next goals for us are to understand the mechanisms in more detail and to understand more about how you evolve an immortal animal."
Flatworms, known as planarian worms, have long fascinated scientists because they have an extraordinary ability to regenerate.

A planarian worm split lengthways or crossways will regenerate into two separate living worms.

The researchers found that flatworms can continuously maintain the length of a crucial part of their DNA, known as telomeres, during regeneration.

Dr Aboobaker's team studied two types of planarian – those that reproduce sexually, like humans, and those that reproduce asexually by simply dividing in two.

Both types appear to regenerate indefinitely by growing new muscles, skin, guts and even entire brains again and again, but the asexual ones also renew their stocks of a key enzyme which may mean they can be immortal, the study said.

Scientists know that one of the key factors associated with ageing cells is telomere length.

Telomeres are sections of DNA that cap the ends of chromosomes, protecting them from damage and the loss of cell functions linked to ageing.

Shorter telomeres are thought to be an indicator of faster ageing.

www.telegraph.co.uk...

even if they could figure out immortality its not like we would ever get it, but still its interesting.

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Oh no! If this actually allows humans to be immortal Obama will be here forever!!!
/end joke
If these worms can allow humans to achieve immortalilty (and from reading this, is doubt it's going to happen) we certainly aren't going to get it. Might as well stamp these worms with "Illuminate Property".

having multiple hearts would probably help lots

Before we start discussing immortality for the masses (or rather, chosen longevity) we must have a comprehensive and forward pushing terraforming process and a functional interstellar space agency to allow us to spread out

else things will get really crowded really quick

I personally believe our first steps of immortality will be more of a downloading ourselves to a digital medium..then we don't have to worry about resources being used up while still being able to tax a person.

reply to post by P-M-H


lol dr.who

i would think that having a heart on the left and the right would be great, and back up sets of re-redundant organs in our bodies so that we could loose 90% of our organs, and still have more than enough to be 100% fine, that would be cool.

also fluffy cat ears ^_^ nyaahhh LOL that would be AWESOME....

GOV YOU BETTER NOT KEEP THIS AWAY FROM THE PEOPLE!!

DON'T STOP US FROM BEING HAPPY!!!!!

i just KNOW it we wont hear about this again.... "they" HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY TO DO THIS ALREADY!!!!!!

they wont share.

all the coolest technology that would make everyones life more easy/fun/healthier/ is all locked up somewhere.

suppressed and forgotten.


i hope aliens show up in space ships and kick some lalala and release all the technology to the people, so everyone can be free and live life the way they decide. ( as long as it doesn't negatively effect another )

Great...!!!!!!!

Currently we have a world full of idiots...

And these people want to research how we can create a world full of immortal idiots...

-Chris