Scientists Accidentally Discover Sea Cucumber with ‘Tissue Immortality’
Researchers found the amputated tissue kept repairing, growing and absorbing nutrients, challenging assumptions about how long complex tissue can stay alive.
- On Wednesday, Memorial University researchers published findings in Science Advances showing amputated tissue from the sea cucumber Psolus fabricii survived over three years in natural seawater, challenging conventional perceptions of tissue immortality.
- Lead author Sara Jobson, a doctoral student at Memorial University, explained these 'zombie' tissue explants maintain cellular function by absorbing dissolved amino acids from seawater and utilizing active immune defenses without regrowing into whole organisms.
- Unlike typical biological tissues that deteriorate after detachment, these 'LiPfe'—living immortal P. fabricii explants—persist in non-sterile environments, demonstrating cellular autonomy researchers previously assumed impossible outside controlled laboratory conditions.
- This discovery offers a new experimental model for regenerative biology and aging research, potentially providing a sustainable alternative to HeLa cell lines, which face significant ethical challenges regarding consent and long-term usage.
- Molecular biologist Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research cautioned it is 'quite likely premature' to confirm immortality, noting future studies must investigate whether telomeres remain consistent after many rounds of cell division.
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What does it mean to be alive? A new study of an amazing sea creature suggests the answer may be more complex than it seems.
The Ocean’s “Real-Life Zombie” Is a Sea Cucumber Whose Amputated Tissue Survived for Three Years
Learn more about Psolus fabricii, a species of sea cucumber whose severed tissue can survive for years after removal and could change the future of biomedical sciences.
Scientists have documented the continued viability of amputated tissue from one of these animals for more than three years in natural seawater. This is the first known report on the long-term survival of discarded tissue outside a sterilized and controlled environment. Read
A severed piece of sea cucumber refused to die, and what happened next could transform medicine
From the revived corpse of Frankenstein's monster to the disembodied hand, "Thing," in the Addams Family, reanimated tissue is one of the most enduring images in science fiction. It turns out, that image has some basis in nature, according to the recent discovery of a mysterious creature that lives on the seafloor that scientists are calling a "real-life zombie."
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