A flatworm parasite found on the gills of a fiddler ray caught off Mandurah, WA. Picture: Ian Whittington, SA Museum Source: Supplied

THE key to immortality could be in flatworms, scientists say. The worms hold the remarkable ability to regenerate time and time again - effectively living forever.

If one is cut in half, the head portion grows a tail and the tail portion grows a head.

Cut it into 20 pieces and 20 new worms, each an exact copy of the first, are created.

This has been exploited by Nottingham University scientists who have created a colony of more than 20,000 worms - which, in the wild, live in lakes and ponds - all from one original, whose bodies and organs do not appear to age.

They are confident a single worm which did not divide would live forever unless it catches an infection or another illness.

Researcher Dr Aziz Aboobaker said: "In my opinion, they are immortal."

It is hoped that the research will help develop treatments that allow humans to stay fit and healthy long into old age.

The experiments focused on Schmidtea mediterranea, a relative of an African parasite.

The flatworm has a simple brain, which can be regenerated by stem cells found elsewhere in the body. In contrast, an earthworm would die if cut in two.

Key to the flatworm's immortality are telomeres - tiny biological clocks that cap the ends of chromosomes. In the flatworm, the telomeres stay intact, allowing cells to divide many times and stopping ageing in its tracks. 

Dr Aboobaker and colleague Dr Thomas Tan said: "The next goals for us are to understand the mechanisms in more detail and understand more about how you evolve an immortal animal."

Knowing more about how the worms safely do this could help stem cell scientists achieve their Holy Grail - the growth of new hearts, livers or brain cells in a dish. It could also speed the development of drugs that stave off diseases of old age.

See more here:
Worming our way to immortality