10 IMMORTAL Organisms

from bacteria that a four million years old to a jellyfish that can never die here are 10 immortal organisms welcome to weird wonders Wednesday number 10 bacteria estimated to be around 4 million years old was discovered in a cave in New Mexico researchers said the bacteria was located a thousand feet deep in lechuguilla cave in Carlsbad cavern National Park it's known as the deepest limestone cave in the continental US so what made the bacteria near immortal because the ancient bacterium existed in harsh conditions for so long it built up defenses as it engaged in a type of chemical warfare with other bacterial colonies as they fought over scarce nutrient sources and over time they became immune to those antibiotics although it's been tagged as a super bug due to its immunity to antibiotics the ancient bacterium isn't considered to be pathogenic it's harmless to humans but experts think further research might lead to developing new methods of fighting disease number 9 turtles tortoises and Terrapins it's fairly common knowledge that these animals can reach ripe old ages there are tortoises like adwaita who died in a zoo in India said to be aged around 250 years Jonathan is a giant tortoise living on the island of st. Helena and to start to have been hatched around 1832 making him around 184 years old but what longevity secrets do turtles possess well scientists have discovered that when these creatures die it's not from old age the internal organs of a centenarian turtle have been found to be identical to that of its teenage counterpart unlike other animals their organs don't tend to break down or lose their efficiency over time part of that is due to the turtles ability to control its heart because they can essentially turn it on and off it will it doesn't have to beat all the time along with its slow metabolism and ability to survive without food or water for extended periods of time scientists consider turtles to be biologically immortal and did you know the term Colonia is often used as a catch-all name for these animals number eight bowhead whales at nearly 60 feet long and weighing around 110 tons the bowhead whale has the largest mouth of any animal unlike other whales that migrate to warmer waters the bowhead lives its entire life in Arctic and subarctic waters maybe that has something to do with the extraordinary lifespans these creatures can live for more than 200 years ranking them among the longest living mammals a specimen caught in 2007 was around 211 years old that estimate was based on the age of a harpoon found embedded in the creature that dated to the late 19th century scientists think the animals longevity could be linked to gene mutations that enhance their resistance to cancer number seven because lobsters are so often served as a meal their longevity would seem to be suspect but scientists are learning that if the crustaceans can escape the cooking pot they're remarkably durable critters instead of getting weaker and vulnerable over time they actually get stronger and more fertile as they shed the shells in 2009 a 20 pound lobster was caught in Maine estimated to be 140 years old experts have concluded that barring injury disease or predation lobsters are biologically immortal their cells do not appear to deteriorate with age they're known to produce a substance called telomerase which helps prevent cells from dying while it's not known exactly how long these animals might live scientists believe further research could help develop treatments that could extend the human lifespan number 6 Greenland sharks these are one of the largest extant species of shark growing more than 20 feet long and weighing over a ton and along with that impressive size they have an impressive life span to go with it in fact they have the longest known life span of all vertebrate species one study earlier in 2016 used radiocarbon dating to determine that the oldest of 28 specimens examined could have lived for 392 years the estimate has a margin of error of 120 years even with that number factored in the creature lived more than 270 years which would still make it the longest living creature with a backbone the mostly found in the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans some experts think there's a connection between the animals longevity and its slow metabolism and Coldwater habitat number five now we earlier mentioned how bacteria aged some four million years was found in a cave in New Mexico well we found a story out of Russia that involves bacteria only around three and a half million years old and a scientist has been injecting himself with it could it be the key to immortality well the scientists Anatoly brauch cough says he's grown stronger and has not been ill in the two years since taking those injections the bacteria was found embedded in Siberian permafrost in 2009 where it remained alive for millions of years scientists tested the bacteria on mice which exhibited increased fertility the bacteria was also shown to heal plants because it has activated the immune response in test subjects experts think the bacteria can lead to discovering an elixir of life or immortality while dr. brauch cough says he's experiencing increased health benefits after using himself as a guinea pig he also admits he has no clue just what the bacteria might be doing to him you think it's worth the risk number four it seems that flat worms which live in lakes and ponds could help solve the riddle of immortality British researchers think that creatures could essentially live forever due to their ability to repeatedly regenerate in an experiment at Nottingham University experts took one original worm then cut it into pieces then observed as each section regenerated in to an entirely new creature over a 4-year period a colony of some 20,000 flatworms was created from the original specimen and the organs and bodies do not appear to age whether the worm is split vertically or horizontally it will still regenerate into two separate living worms researchers concluded that unless a single undivided worm contracts an illness or infection it could conceivably live forever number three glass sea sponges these animals might not look so durable and a lot of people don't think they look like animals at all but their appearance aside glass sea sponges are estimated to have a lifespan that could approach some 15,000 years that number is based on a study that estimated the age of one specimen at twenty-three thousand years old glass sea sponges are often found in the Antarctic at depths up to 3,000 feet the name is a reference to their internal rigid skeletons made up of silica experts think they evolved into the current form over 700 million years ago and could well represent the world's oldest living animals number two did you know there's a mushroom found in China that is said to provide huge health benefits maybe that's not surprising considering it's a huge fungus at its widest point the lingzhi mushroom measures some 3 feet wide and weighs of a 16 pounds a store owner in southwest China displayed the immense mushroom at his shop it has a red kidney shaped cap and no gills on the underside spores are released through fine pores instead it's gained a reputation as the immortality mushroom and it's been used in traditional Chinese medicines for over 2,000 years it's said to contain around a thousand compounds that are beneficial to your health such as polysaccharides known to enhance the activity of quite blood cells that's among the key ingredients of the lingzi that is said to lower blood pressure stop the growth and spread of cancer cells and even slow down the aging process but the magic of the immortality mushroom does come with a price tag a basic bag of lingzhi mushroom powder runs about 30 US dollars and the entire fungus will set you back around 900 bucks number one the immortal jellyfish this small species of jelly lives in the Mediterranean Sea in the waters of Japan and it can apparently live in those waters forever turritopsis dohrnii eye is a creature around four and a half millimeters wide smaller than the nail on your pinky finger you can see what the creature looks like in these pictures from Takashi Mirai and Yi Ming Chen you'll notice the long thin strand like tentacles extending from underneath the creature those tentacles will retract and the jellyfish will shrink as it reverts to its juvenile polyp stage you can also see that while the shape of the creatures bells are similar the coloration ranges from gold to crimson and electric blue adult forms of this species can hit a type of reset button allowing them to essentially start the life cycle all over again the process is called transdifferentiation and would seem to ensure that this animal can never die unless they're killed by a predator or stricken with disease otherwise they are in effect immortal

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Keywords: immortal, organisms, species, animals, creatures, immortal creatures, immortal animals, oldest species, oldest organisms, immortality, rare, ancient, epic, shocking, you won't believe, world's oldest species, longest living animals, oldest animals on earth, ever, top, best, everlasting life, life, nature, science, fact, true, explained, immortal jellyfish, glass sea sponge, flat worms, bacteria, greenland sharks, lobsters, rarest, strange, weirdest, strangest creatures, weird animals, turtles, mushroom

Id: 9ZDWonq_5j0

Length: 9min 42sec (582 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 28 2016