Can A Jellyfish Unlock the Secret of Immortality by Nathaniel Rich. The New York Times Magazine. November 28 2012.
In Japan, the country with the world's oldest population, a scientist, Sin Kubota with the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory. looks for the keys to immortality in an obscure species known as Turritonsis dohrnij, the immortal jellyfish.
In 1988 it was discovered that Turritonsis dohrnij could at any stage of development could transform itself back to a polyp, in essence becoming younger and younger until a new life cycle would begin again. In addition to Kubota, other scientists are studying hydrozoans, invertebrates that depending on life cycle stage will resemble a jellyfish or soft coral. For example, the hydra is composed almost completely of stem cells that allow continuous regeneration.
The capacity for regeneration has potentially profound implications for cancer research and longevity. microRNAs regulate cell differentiation by the process of gene expression. These simple organisms may have, in effect, eschewed cell differentiation for cancer prevention and immortality.
Sin Kubota, scientist, is also a songwriter. His songwriting is not merely a hobby but a tool for spiritual change. He worries that needed spiritual changes in the human heart will not be adequate to deal with the potential that he sees from his research. Song is the way he seeks to expand man's vision for change and love of nature.
No comments:
Post a Comment