Key points from article :
Sea urchin was suggested as a novel model for studying longevity and senescence.
Considering the lack of senescence and sequencing revealing a genetic relation to humans.
Red sea urchin confirmed to live well over 100 years, some specimens reaching 200 years.
Intriguing as there is the green sea urchin that just lives up to 4 years.
Lack of age-associated telomere shortening observed in both long and short-lived sea urchins.
Continuous telomerase expression and maintenance of telomeres observed in some samples.
Evidence of negligible senescence is similar across these sea urchins.
But the mechanism of their mortality remains poorly understood; more research needed.
Researchers from University of Haifa, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, published in Genes.
