Turritopsisdorhrnii, also known as the “immortal jellyfish.” This small jellyfish, found in the Pacific waters off of Japan as well as in the Mediterranean, is unique upon animals in that once it reproduces,instead of aging into a post-reproductive state, it rather reverses its aging process and reverts to polyp form through the process of transdifferentiation. Scientists compare it to a caterpillar who becomes a butterfly and then turns back to a caterpillar to start over again. Exactly how it happens is still under investigation, but it’s a fascinating lead to follow. [1]Does anyone genuinely wish to be immortal on this earth?
An immortal can live forever biologically but that does not mean he will. An immortal must consider all sorts of risks, including the risk of being murdered by one's enemies (if one lives that long, one is bound to have enemies who could very well be a spouse or a relative), the risk of being in a fatal accident, the risk of a heart attack resulting from worrying too much about his premature death (any death is premature for an immortal) and the risk of having a interminable illness or disability that attaches to an immortal's DNA regardless of the number of times he transdifferentiates [2] or regenerates [3].
Suppose immortality can be attained by popping a pill, one that will be affordable under any socialist country's health care program, then imagine an ever expanding population and an ever shrinking pool of natural resources that is needed to sustain life [4]. Will war break out? Will neighbor kill neighbor? Will brother poison brother?
What about boredom? An immortal has been there [5], and done that, not once but many times over. What about family? How many centuries can one relate lovingly to one's spouse, one's children, one's parents, grandparents, great grandparents and so on? What about finances? Can an immortal afford immortality? Can the United States Post Office afford immortality? [6]
Perhaps the reason that immortality is not being sought is because humans intuitively know this Truth: that they are unable as a species live with each other forever. [7]
Only when the soul is perfected after death will it be able to exist forever in a realm that is perfect: Heaven. Only then, can the concept of timelessness of time be truly appreciated and an eternity of bliss be had in the presence of the Virgin Mary and the Holy Trinity.
[1] http://www.tested.com/science/life/460391-how-researchers-want-help-humanity-live-forever/
[2] Ibid.
[3] http://www.tested.com/science/life/460391-how-researchers-want-help-humanity-live-forever/item/planarian-worms/
[4] Even the turritopsisdorhrnii cannot live or transdifferentiate without water.
[5] With immortals populating the planet, nobody will be able to get anywhere fast, if at all. Roads and freeways would be jammed packed like a parking lot and it would take forever to get anywhere, so one would need to be immortal for sure, assuming one does not die from thirst or starvation on the way to the grocery store.
[6] I am pretty certain that in a world of immortals, those "forever" stamps that the United States Post Office sells will be issued with an expiration date.
[7] "You might expect that, having learned of the existence of immortal life, man would dedicate colossal resources to learning how the immortal jellyfish performs its trick. You might expect that biotech multinationals would vie to copyright its genome; that a vast coalition of research scientists would seek to determine the mechanisms by which its cells aged in reverse; that pharmaceutical firms would try to appropriate its lessons for the purposes of human medicine; that governments would broker international accords to govern the future use of rejuvenating technology. But none of this happened." See http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/magazine/can-a-jellyfish-unlock-the-secret-of-immortality.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
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