This 194-Year-Old Tortoise Has the Cells of a 5-Year-Old
Saint Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean, is home to Jonathan, an elderly Aldabra giant tortoise who was brought there long ago from the Seychelles. Although Jonathan is 194 years old, his physiology tells a different story. According to his cells, Jonathan has the biological age of a five-year-old tortoise. A new study published in Science Advances found that Jonathan is working with a toolbox of anti-aging cells unlike any seen before. Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the Kaleel Foundation determined this after collecting Jonathan's DNA, sequencing it, and identifying 287 unique gene variants. The gracefully aging tortoise, which was alive during the time of Charles Darwin and Queen Victoria, has cells that "repair damaged DNA, reduce inflammation, regulate insulation," and even keep cancer at bay. Jonathan the giant tortoise is 194 years young, thanks…
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