Buluqiya, who is the son of the king of Cairo, finds a book in his fathers royal treasury narrating the coming of the Prophet Muhammad(P.B.U.H) and the powers of immortality granted by the ring of the King and Prophet Suleiman(Solomon). Upon seeing this he becomes eager to attain the ring, so he, along with a wise scholar by the name Affan, take off on this long voyage. On one of the islands they meet the serpent Queen Yamlika, who is half serpent and half woman. The queen gives them plant juices that allows them to walk safely across the seven seas. She also warns them not to attempt taking King Suleiman’s ring as it will only bring them untimely destruction. She offers them an alternative plant that bestows eternal youth, but in their power hungry state they decline and continue their journey. Once they reach the tomb they end up mispronouncing an incantation which triggers a trap that brings Affan to his demise. Buluqiya survives, but is at the end of the day left stranded and empty handed.(Burton, R. Scott, J.)
Many cultures across the globe have stories such as this, that talk about eternal youth and immortality. Humans have long sought after the idea of living forever and it is very visible in all the stories we tell. Our search for immortality seems to be a never-ending endeavor. There are species on this planet though that never had to look for immortality, as that is their natural state of being. Though extremely rare in nature it is very much present.
Immmortality
Immortality has been a long sought after human obsession. Many religions believe that immortality is real after death. Hinduism believes in incarnation. Whether one moves to a better or worse life is dependent on their behaviour whilst alive. Ancient Egyptians believed that one appeared before a court of judges, after death, for the actions made while alive. Persian followers of Zoroaster believe in crossing a bridge to reach the heavenly gates. The bridge narrows and widens based on the deeds of the person while they were alive. Christians throughout the middle ages up till now believe in a future after death. Punishments or rewards are based on actions while alive. Islam also believes that the deeds of a person determines their likelihood of receiving a favourable or unfavourable immortality after death.
Religious organizations aren’t the only ones with thoughts on immortality. Many philosophers also believed or spoke out on their disbelief of immortality. Plato believed that nothing can destroy the soul, thus leaving us immortal even once the body has died. Aristotle believed that reason cannot be destroyed so the mind is always turning. He didn’t believe that the soul could possibly continue to operate after the body had been destroyed though. Epicureans believed that after one dies there is no soul that will revive in an afterlife. Avicenna believed in the immortality of the soul. St. Albert Camus believed that the soul rests in its own separate reality. This means that if the body dies the soul remains, since its operation is not entirely dependent on the physical body. Benedict de Spinoza believed that God is the ultimate reality and remains immortal always and forever, but individuals within him may die which in no way affects his ultimate immortality.
Lifecycle
The Turritopsis dohrnii, also known as the immortal jellyfish, starts off its lifecycle as a polyp and evolves to a fully grown medusa. Contrary to its name, it isn’t actually a jellyfish but instead a species of extremely small jellyfish-like, translucent invertebrates called Cnidaria. The immortal jellyfish is native to the Mediterranean sea but due to it attaching itself to the hulls of ships in its earlier stages, it is now found worldwide. It is especially found in warmer regions such as California, Florida, and Panama of north America, Okinawa and other southern Japanese islands where they have multiplied to the point where they are even deemed invasive species with little to no threat.
These Cnidarias reproduce both sexually and asexually. The male and female produce their individual gametes and release them into the water where they fertilize. Next the larval, called planula, is produced and starts trying to attach itself to any hard surface. The majority of the time it is on the ocean floor but it will also attach itself on rocks or the hulls of ships. Once they have been securely attached they will form a colony of polyps that reach up to 35mm or 1.38inches in length. Now that the polyps have grown, buds will start appearing on their tips and then break off evolving into its adult phase.
In times that are harder, for example when there is food scarcity or water temperatures are not ideal, the medusa will start transforming back to its starting point. The tentacles are destroyed and it starts to lose its ability to swim so it needs to attach itself once again to a hard surface. The length and width of a fully grown immortal jelly fish is only about 4.5mm or 0.18inches. The adult, known as the medusa, has 80 to 90 tentacles that can be used to sting and inject venom, making it easier to catch its prey. These immortal jellyfish are carnivorous and feed on fish eggs, zooplankton, larvae, and mollusks. The immortal jellyfish itself gets eaten by multiple sea creatures including penguins, sea slugs and sea turtles. It can repeat this cycle of becoming a medusa and regressing all the way back to a mass of undifferentiated stem cells for as long as it lives. That is in the cases where it doesn’t get eaten or catches a deadly disease.
Human use
Scientists have tirelessly been trying to induce pluripotent stem cells to be able to differentiate into any type of cell in the body, replacing old or faulty cell clusters. These immortal jellyfish on the other hand can do this naturally by simply rewinding the clock on their growth, turning them back into completely unspecialized stem cells over and over again.
Once scientists are able to understand the mechanics of the immortal jellyfish’s extraordinary ability to reverse its age, human aging might be able to be slowed down or perhaps even paused completely. Damaged body parts can be repaired and age related diseases can be reversed if the old cells can simply regenerate back to their prior stronger selves. Perhaps even inserting stem cells that have the ability to differentiate into any cell in the body replacing the faulty ones.
Conclusion
Aging is a natural process that nearly every plant and animal has to go through in some form or another. It is a process that can bring upon many different diseases and illnesses that were once dormant. It causes the weakening of cells and tissues leaving the body more susceptible to attacks by pathogens. The human fascination with backtracking aging and immortality comes from a fear of slowly deteriorating and having absolutely no power to do anything about it as it is a natural biological process that happens across the globe. It is no wonder that once the rejuvenating qualities of the immortal jellyfish were discovered, scientists and researchers became intrigued. Even though we still have a long way to go in terms of reversing aging completely and maintaining a youthful body throughout one’s lifespan. Scientists are continuously testing and researching, so that perhaps we can live in a future where we will grow old but never have to suffer the constant pain that comes along with it.
Bibliography
Burton, R. Scott, J. (2015). One Thousand and One Nights. Delphi Classics.
Sottosanti, K. (2024, October). Immortal jellyfish.
Orozco, T. (2026, May 26). Why the Immortal Jellyfish May Never Die (and What That Means for Aging).
Mircea, V. C. (2025, June). Biological Immortality of Turritopsis dohrnii Jellyfish.
