When you look in the mirror and wish you were a decade younger, what you’re really asking for is reverse development, or reverse aging.
Though most animals, including humans, are born, age, and eventually die, some species can break away from this traditional lifecycle: they seemingly defy age and revert to younger versions of themselves.
“The work challenges our understanding of early animal development and body plans, opening new avenues for the study of life cycle plasticity and rejuvenation.
“Witnessing how they slowly transition to a typical cydippid larva as if they were going back in time, was simply fascinating,” Soto-Angel explained.
It will be interesting to reveal the molecular mechanism driving reverse development, and what happens to the animal’s nerve net during this process.”
You are essentially requesting reverse development, or reverse aging, when you look in the mirror and wish you were ten years younger. While the majority of animals, including humans, are born, grow older, and eventually pass away, certain species have the ability to defy this typical life cycle by appearing to age back into their younger selves.
Among these, Turritopsis dohrnii, also known as the immortal jellyfish, is the most well-known. However, a recent study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has identified a new member of this exclusive group with exceptional skills: the comb jelly, or ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi. The number of additional “time-traveler” species that may exist is currently a mystery to scientists.
By challenging our knowledge of early animal development and body plans, the work creates new opportunities for the study of rejuvenation and life cycle plasticity. It’s intriguing to consider how widespread this ability is throughout the animal tree of life given that we have discovered a new species that makes use of this odd “time-travel machine,” according to Joan J. According to a statement from Soto-Angel, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Bergen who co-wrote the study.
The basis for this study is an accidental discovery. After a larval ctenophore unexpectedly replaced an adult ctenophore in a tank in his laboratory, Soto-Angel started looking into the subject. But it turned out that it was the same person. In order to determine whether reverse development could occur, Soto-Angel and his colleagues started attempting to replicate the situation. They found that under severe stress, an adult ctenophore can actually return to a larval stage.
“Watching them gradually change into a normal cydippid larva, as though they were traveling back in time, was just amazing,” Soto-Angel said. Over the course of a few weeks, they not only changed in appearance but also exhibited a totally different feeding pattern that is characteristic of cydippid larvae. “”.
Given the age of comb jellies—some studies indicate that they may have been the first animal to appear, having first appeared some 700 million years ago—the researchers hypothesized that reverse development may be a primordial ability.
Paul Burkhardt, who co-wrote the study and is a researcher at the University of Bergen, said in the statement, “This is a very exciting time for us.”. Numerous significant discoveries will be made possible by this intriguing discovery. Determining the molecular mechanism underlying reverse development and the consequences for the animal’s nervous system during this process will be intriguing. “.”.
