The cycle of life and death is perhaps the greatest puzzle facing humanity. However, we are not here to delve into philosophical questions about life after death, but rather to address a much more down-to-earth question than we thought: Do eternal life exist?

In short, the answer is yes, or at least with a very high scientific probability. The creature that likely challenges the notion that all organisms die at some point is the hydra, a multi-cellular organism that lives in fresh water. Scientists who have studied this creature under controlled conditions have discovered that there is a good chance it has unlocked an evolutionary secret that allows its cells to regenerate indefinitely. A short video from NPR explores what we know about this unusual creature.

A Natural Phenomenon Without Explanation

The decisive encounter between humans and the hydra took place in the mid-18th century when the Swiss biologist Abraham Trembley discovered a tiny organism in a pond with a tubular body and tentacles protruding from it. Like any researcher encountering a new phenomenon, Trembley’s first action was to dissect the creature, and he cut it in half. To his astonishment, instead of dying, each half grew into a complete adult organism. After further cutting, he had four creatures, and so on.

A little over two hundred years later, another researcher named Daniel Martinez became fascinated by hydras and decided to see how long they would take to die under natural conditions. He placed a number of hydras in a container and waited. After a few days – and this is a crucial point – the hydras produced offspring. Martinez waited for their death for weeks, months, a year, and two years – and after four years, he concluded that the hydras do not die naturally, or in scientific terms: the process of aging is absent from the hydra’s life cycle.

It may seem hasty to conclude that they are immortal after only four years, but the key lies in their reproduction rate. Every organism reaches sexual maturity relative to its average life expectancy. The earlier they produce offspring, the sooner they die. For example, flies start reproducing after two weeks and live for about two months. In contrast, elephants reproduce at the age of 13 and live for an average of 50 years. According to this pattern, since hydras reproduce after just two days, they should die after a month.

The Hydras Refuse to Die

Since Martinez’s experiment, over eight years have passed, and his hydras are still alive. This is more than a hundred times their expected average lifespan. In more familiar terms, it’s like a human reaching the age of 5,000.

The secret of the hydra lies in its constantly renewing cells. Although their cells are not as complex as those of other organisms, they have one special skill – to stay young. The cells do not age before they are replaced and shed from the hydra’s body. Cell replacement occurs at a remarkable rate: every 20 days, all of the hydra’s cells are brand new.

Biologically, and according to our current understanding, the hydra is a creature of immortality, a genetic fountain of youth that keeps renewing itself and doesn’t age. This phenomenon, of course, doesn’t solve the mystery of existence, and it may even complicate it further. Nevertheless, it reveals that even the most deterministic aspect of our perception – death – is not as absolute as we tend to think it is.

Source article on the Essence of Life website (Hebrew)  click here