What if I told you the secret to living forever might be hiding in a creature smaller than your pinky—clinging to the coasts of the U.S. and Britain? Imagine if one tiny sea animal could turn our wildest dreams of eternal youth into reality.

Forget sci-fi movies and fantasy novels; the latest AI generated newscast about the starlet sea anemone (Nematostella vectensis) reads like nature's ultimate plot twist. While most of us are busy worrying about pensions and wrinkles, scientists are looking underwater for the keys to immortality. The humble starlet sea anemone, a little-known marine critter, is making massive waves in the scientific world—and not just because of its cute tentacles.

This unassuming creature lives along the eastern shores of the U.S. and has even made its way to the coasts of Britain. While it might look like just another sea squirt, its powers are extraordinary. The starlet sea anemone doesn't just heal; it regenerates entire body parts—over and over, practically laughing in the face of aging. Belonging to the Cnidaria family (with famous cousins like jellyfish), these animals have shown the science world just how fluid the line between life and death can be. Some jellyfish, like Turritopsis dohrnii, are dubbed 'immortal' for their ability to regenerate endlessly. Now, their anemone relatives are stealing the spotlight.

What sets Nematostella vectensis apart? For starters, it can reproduce both sexually and asexually. That means in a lab, scientists can grow endless generations of these sea anemones—perfect for research into what makes regeneration possible. Cue a groundbreaking study featured in Science Advances: researchers from the University of Vienna took a deep dive (pun intended) into this creature’s biology and surfaced with a discovery that could change everything. They found the starlet sea anemone is powered by special multipotent stem cells—the biological equivalent of hitting the reset button, over and over again.

Now, humans have stem cells, too, and they do amazing things like heal injuries and even regrow some organs. But these sea anemones take regeneration to a whole new level. Their stem cells never seem to run out of steam, producing nerve cells, glandular cells, and who knows what else, with an efficiency that would make Wolverine jealous. Using cutting-edge single-cell genomics, scientists pinpointed the exact population of these miracle cells. Lead researcher Andreas Denner says they can now track how these cells turn into all sorts of specialized cells, making the starlet sea anemone a living fountain of youth.

Here’s where things get even wilder: the researchers identified two ancient genes, nanos and piwi, as the master keys behind this regenerative marvel. These genes are so old—they’ve been around for over 600 million years!—that they might just be the original source code for life as we know it. By using CRISPR gene-editing technology to mutate one of these genes (nanos2), the team proved its importance. The mutated anemones lost their near-immortal ability to regenerate, revealing that this ancient gene is the real MVP in the quest to defeat aging.

The AI generated newscast about these mind-blowing findings has captured the imagination of everyone from scientists to everyday dreamers. Could this tiny sea creature be the beginning of a future where humans, too, can reset the clock?