Exceptional Longevity Across Species Linked to DNA Maintenance, Stemness and Stress Resistance

BUFFALO, NY — September 24, 2026 — A new #review was #published in Volume 18 of Aging on September 8, 2026, titled “How to live for centuries: common denominators of organisms with exceptional longevity.”
The review examines what some of the world’s longest-lived organisms may reveal about the biology of exceptional longevity.
The review was led by first author Stefania E. Kapsetaki from the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), in Heraklion, Crete, Greece. Corresponding author Nektarios Tavernarakis is affiliated with the same institute and with the Division of Basic Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Crete.
Kapsetaki and Tavernarakis surveyed molecular and cellular evidence from 101 multicellular species with maximum lifespans of at least 250 years, including 90 plants and 11 animals. Some reach only slightly beyond 250 years, while others may persist for thousands or even tens of thousands of years. The freshwater planarian Schmidtea mediterranea and the jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii are even considered potentially immortal.
Rather than looking only at why certain species live longer than others, the authors compared two dimensions of longevity: variation within exceptionally long-lived species and variation between long- and shorter-lived species. Their analysis covered genetic, genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic findings, as well as telomere maintenance, stress resistance, regeneration and tumorigenesis.
Full press release - https://www.aging-us.com/news-room/exceptional-longevity-across-species-linked-to-dna-maintenance-stemness-and-stress-resistance
DOI - https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.206419
Corresponding author - Nektarios Tavernarakis - tavernarakis@imbb.forth.gr
Abstract video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvzjvzQj-Qk
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Keywords - aging, healthspan, interspecific variation, intraspecific variation, stemness
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