“We confirmed something that was suspected a long time ago, but never proven,” says Fernando Colchero, a biodemographer at the University of Southern Denmark. But unlike birds and mammals, their overall risk of death doesn’t increase with age. That doesn’t make them immortal turtles can still die from illness or injury. With an extensive analysis of 52 species of turtles (a designation that includes both water dwellers and land-lodging tortoises), the team of four scientists found that the majority of them showed exceptionally slow-and in some cases, negligible-senescence while in captivity. The authors of a study published in Science last month say yes. And just a few months ago, a giant Aldabra tortoise named Jonathan celebrated what was believed to be his 190th birthday, making him the world’s oldest living land animal.Ĭases like these beg the question: Is it possible to escape aging? Last year, a naked mole rat made headlines for turning 39, five times the typical lifespan for similarly sized rodents. Some species seem to do better than others, though: Take the hydra, a tiny freshwater creature that some scientists have deemed potentially immortal. Over time, humans have gotten better at avoiding the first two, but as we get older, senescence-the gradual deterioration of bodily functions with age-is inevitable. There are three ways to die: of injury, disease, or old age.
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