WEBVTT - What Is The Oldest Living Thing?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from how Stuff works. Hey, brain stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Christian Sager here. So as far as aging goes, humans

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<v Speaker 1>have it pretty good. I mean, we're no giant tortoises,

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<v Speaker 1>but we're generally capable of living for decades, some of

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<v Speaker 1>us for more than a century. Here at brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>it got us thinking, what is the world's oldest living thing? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>that's a tricky question, and the answer depends on how

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<v Speaker 1>we define living and thing. First, let's tackle what we

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<v Speaker 1>mean by thing. If we say a thing could also

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<v Speaker 1>be a clonal colony, then the competition heats up quickly.

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<v Speaker 1>There are numerous plant and fungal clone colonies that have

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<v Speaker 1>been around for tens of thousands of years, and they're

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<v Speaker 1>still barreling along. There's King Clone, the creosote bush in

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<v Speaker 1>the Mojave, almost twelve thousand years old. And we can't

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<v Speaker 1>forget Pando, the gigantic male quaking aspen clonal colony in Utah.

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<v Speaker 1>He is about eighty thousand years old. Incidentally, he's also

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<v Speaker 1>the heaviest living thing, weighing in around six million kilograms.

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<v Speaker 1>But what if we stick to single organisms. If so,

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<v Speaker 1>then the tiny end a liths are strong contenders. These

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<v Speaker 1>extreme aphile methuselahs like to kick back and take it easy.

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<v Speaker 1>For millions of years, they've lived a mile and a

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<v Speaker 1>half below the ocean floor, with metabolism slower, the molasses

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<v Speaker 1>only reproducing once every few centuries or millennia. I mean

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<v Speaker 1>that makes pandas look like rabbits. There's a big, let's

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<v Speaker 1>call it loophole in the definition of living dormancy. What

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<v Speaker 1>if something was frozen in time, trapped in stasis, and

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<v Speaker 1>then revived like Captain America or the Alien and the Thing.

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<v Speaker 1>In two thousand and eleven, professor Brian Schubert published a

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<v Speaker 1>paper on just that he discovered bacteria in what he

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<v Speaker 1>called a kind of hibernation state inside tiny bubbles of

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<v Speaker 1>thirty four thousand year old salt crystals. Their scientists have

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<v Speaker 1>claimed to find older organisms, such as the two hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and fifty million year old bacteria in southeast New Mexico,

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<v Speaker 1>but Schubert's work was independently reproduced. So if we allow

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<v Speaker 1>an organism to take a time out and spend thousands

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<v Speaker 1>of years in stasis, there are loads of competitors for

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<v Speaker 1>the title of oldest living thing, many of which may

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<v Speaker 1>still lurk undiscovered in the isolated hinter lands of Earth.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, deep oceans, remote mountains, endless Arctic wastes. Now

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<v Speaker 1>I'm thinking of HP Lovecraft. Well, moving on, there's one

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<v Speaker 1>other important thing. Some organisms might be immortal. Now, don't

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<v Speaker 1>get jealous. We're not talking about some super sexy vampire

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<v Speaker 1>type immortality. No, we're talking about jellyfish, specifically hydra and

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<v Speaker 1>the tour autopsis story. The tour autopsis is only four

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<v Speaker 1>point five millimeters large, but capable of something that may

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<v Speaker 1>be unique in the animal world. After reaching sexual maturity,

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<v Speaker 1>it can revert to its polyp stage, it can reverse

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<v Speaker 1>and reset its aging cycle, rendering it biologically immortal, and

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<v Speaker 1>the hydra doesn't seem to age at all. That means

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<v Speaker 1>that potentially the oldest living organism could one day be

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<v Speaker 1>a jellyfish. But for now, even counting states of dormancy,

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<v Speaker 1>the oldest living, continually active things on Earth appear to

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<v Speaker 1>be the extreme file organisms collectively called endoliths. But of

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<v Speaker 1>course there may be something older, buried in time, dormant,

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<v Speaker 1>waiting for intrepid humans to wake it from its deathless slumber.

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<v Speaker 1>Check out the Brainstuff channel on YouTube and for more

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<v Speaker 1>on this and thousands of other topics. Visit how stuff

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