Washington, December 20 (ANI): The key to longevity may not lie in a miraculous essence of water, but rather in the structure and function of cells within a plant and not a special, mysterious, rare plant, but one that we may think of as being quite commonplace, even ordinary - the palm, researchers say.

For centuries, humans have been exploring, researching, and, in some cases, discovering how to stave off life-threatening diseases, increase life spans, and obtain immortality.

Biologists, doctors, spiritual gurus, and even explorers have pursued these quests - one of the most well-known examples being the legendary search by Ponce de Leon for the "Fountain of Youth".

P. Barry Tomlinson from The Kampong Garden of the National Tropical Botanical Garden, Miami, teamed up with graduate student Brett Huggett from Harvard University to write a review paper exploring the idea that palms may be the longest-lived tree, and whether this might be due to genetic underpinnings.

Having retained his essay in his personal files, Tomlinson found that it provided an excellent literature background for working on the question of cell longevity in relation to palms.

A component of an organism's life span that biologists have been particularly interested in is whether longevity is genetically determined and adaptive.

For botanists, discovering genetic links to increasing crop production and the reproductive lifespan of plants, especially long-lived ones such as trees, would be invaluable.

In their paper, Tomlinson and Huggett emphasize that in many respects, an organisms' life span, or longevity, is determined by the period of time in which its cells remain functionally metabolically active.

In this respect, plants and animals differ drastically, and it has to do with how they are organized-plants are able to continually develop new organs and tissues, whereas animals have a fixed body plan and are not able to regenerate senescing organs. Thus, plants can potentially live longer than animals.

"The difference in potential cell longevity in plants versus animals is a significant point," Tomlinson said.

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Palm trees 'may hold key to immortality'