FRICK INVESTIGATES: CAN WE LIVE FOREVER?
Animals, lifespans, and what it means to age…
Hello nature fans! Sorry for the hiatus, we were workin' on a cool project with the CBC and the Nature of Things! So we were BUSY, sorry 'bout that. BUT we have some new stuff coming at yah!
We just dropped...
THE THIRD EPISODE OF THE FRICK, I LOVE NATURE PODCAST!
I dunno about you, but sometimes I think about death. Anyway, it got me wondering about animal lifespans, specifically…
Why do some animals live long lives while others live short lives?
Maybe this sounds like a simple lil question, but the more I thought about it, the more curious I got. Seriously, think about it: why do some tortoises live to be over 150 while some beetles only live for a few weeks?
How did this happen? And how can I use that information to live to be a hot 250?
To find out, we interviewed Dr. Pierre Blier, a researcher at Université du Québec à Rimouski who studies the evolution of animal energy metabolism, mitochondria, and aging. Dr. Blier has spent most of his career trying to untangle the knot of how and why aging happens. With over 200 papers, his work has been fundamental to our understanding. Plus, he’s fun!
Go listen to the episode. It’s on Spotify and Apple and anywhere else you get your podcasts.
If you like it, give us a 5-star review. Heck, huck us a 5-star review even if you don’t like it!
And now for the rest of the Frick Newsletter…
SOME COOL ANIMAL AGING FACTS!!!
Fact #1: The Immortal Jellyfish
Most jellyfish species have fixed lifespans, some as long as months and some as short as a few hours. But the teeny-tiny Turritopsis dohrnii DUNKS that trend in the GARBAGE! A mature T. dohrnii is able to reverse the aging process by returning to an immature state. It does this to protect and repair its body following injury or stress, but it has the side-effect of making the jellyfish functionally immortal! There appears to be no limit to how many times the jellyfish can undergo this process. I would make some Highlander jokes here, but my producer didn't know what that was, and it made me feel old and shunned.
Fact #2: Old-ass Whales
Bowhead whales are the longest-lived mammal species on Earth, living to over 200 years. That fact is already pretty cool, but what’s really cool is how scientists figured it out. At first, nobody thought much about bowhead whale lifespans, they just assumed they lived to normal whale-ages. Then, in 2007, a living whale was caught off of Alaska with a harpoon in its head… a harpoon manufactured in 1879. Excuse me while I pick my jaw off my linoleum and reattach it to me skull.
Scientists then measured the ages of other bowhead whales and discovered a specimen estimated to be 211 years old. I just feel bad for the whale that spent 140 years with a toothpick in its brain. Migraines are bad enough when you don’t have a head the size of a school bus, and you'd need an Advil Liquid Gel the size of a Jan Sport backpack.
Fact #3: Immortali-tree
Okay, maybe not actually immortal… but close enough! Pinus (hehe) longaeva - the western bristlecone pine - is the longest living species on Earth. The oldest recorded individual tree is named “Methuselah” with an estimated age of nearly FIVE THOUSAND and… nobody knows where it is. That’s right, to protect the tree its location is kept entirely secret. A secret agent tree!
That’s all for this newsletter. Now go listen to our episode about aging gracefully! Here are the Spotify and Apple links again, but you can find the show on any podcast platform. Go! Listen now!
Thanks for reading Natureinos!
– Gordie & The Frick Team