Lobsters don't show signs of aging and may be biologically immortal
Lobsters produce an enzyme called telomerase throughout their lives that continuously repairs their DNA. Most animals' cells age because telomeres (protective caps on DNA) shorten with each cell division — but lobsters replenish theirs indefinitely. A 140-year-old lobster is biologically just as fertile and vigorous as a 20-year-old. They don't slow down, weaken, or lose reproductive ability with age. What kills them is usually moulting — the energy required to shed and regrow their shells becomes overwhelming at very large sizes.
Biological immortality — the theoretical absence of aging — sounds like science fiction. Discovering it exists in an animal sold in supermarkets for dinner makes the concept feel both tantalizingly close and completely useless to us.
“Lobsters may be biologically immortal — they produce an enzyme that continuously repairs their DNA and show no signs of aging. What kills them is the exhaustion of moulting, not old age. 🦞 #OddlyHuman”