Hydra – sounds scary? This time we are not talking about this mythical semi-dragon beast from Greek mythology that guarded the entrance to the underworld. In reality, hydra is a tiny aquatic creature. But is shares a very important ability with its monstrous legendary counterpart: an otherworldy ability to regenerate parts of its body. Including its head.
Hydra. Image credit: Proyecto Agua via Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
This extremely effective ability to heal itself may hold the secret to eternal youth. Theoretically, if we had similar ability, we could just discard damaged organ or limb, and regrow a new one. Most of aging and injury-related problems would be solved at once. Wouldn't that be nice?
The following video presents a brief story of hydra and discusses the secret why it is able to live so long, while continually regenerating all the cells in its body. Also, you'll be able to witness how it grows a second head when cut in half, while the severed head grows an entirely new body.