Nicklas Brendborg - Jellyfish Age Backwards: Natures Secrets to Longevity

Nicklas Brendborg is a PhD student of molecular biology at the University of Copenhagen and is one of the most promising research talents in the field. He was a featured young scientist at the Novo Nordisk International Talent Program and was awarded the Novo Scholarship. In 2015, Brendborg published his first book, Top Student. He also co-authored Lars Tvedes bestseller Supertrends.

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First published in Great Britain in 2022 by Hodder & Stoughton

An Hachette UK company

Copyright Nicklas Brendborg 2022

Translation Dr Elizabeth DeNoma 2022

The right of Nicklas Brendborg to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Cover image: Lydia Blagden

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

eBook ISBN 978 1 529 38792 6

Trade Paperback ISBN 978 1 529 39401 6

eBook ISBN 978 1 529 38792 6

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The Fountain of Youth

In 1493, an expedition of seventeen ships left the Spanish port town of Cdiz. After a stop in the Canary Islands, the expedition ventured out across the Atlantic. Destination: India. Maybe?

This convoy was the second Spanish voyage to America. The aim was to establish the first Spanish base in the New World, and to do so, the commander, Christopher Columbus, brought more than a thousand men with him. Among them was the young and ambitious Juan Ponce de Len. When the expedition reached its destination the tropical island of Hispaniola Ponce de Len settled down and eventually became a respected military commander and landowner.

At the time, the New World was a place of legends involving strange lands, alien peoples and, of course, massive wealth. One day, Ponce de Len heard just such a story promising new land north of Hispaniola. He quickly assembled a crew and set out to investigate. Ponce de Lens expedition ventured north along the Bahamas and then glimpsed a strange new place, which they named La Florida for the many flowers in the landscape.

The Spaniards were quick to explore the new land and at one point, they encountered a tribe of native peoples. During the meeting, the natives told the Spaniards about a mythical spring, which they called the Fountain of Youth: a spring whose water was healing and which could make even the oldest person young again. They insisted, however, that no one in their community could remember where it was. And no, no, they didnt just tell this story to make the Spaniards leave them alone. It was completely true.

In the following years, the Spanish expedition traversed the coast of Florida, searching every nook and cranny for this infamous source of immortality. The hopeful Spaniards plunged into every freshwater spring they found pretty brave, considering Floridas alligator population. Of course, the Spaniards never found the mythical spring, and in turn, the Grim Reaper eventually found them all.

* * *

Alright, serious historians will probably tell you that the Fountain of Youth story is mostly a myth. Fortunately, Im not a serious historian, so Im allowed to start my book with a bit of a tall tale.

Truth be told, Ponce de Len and his men were probably seeking the same kind of fortune as everyone else at the time: land and gold, probably slaves and undoubtedly also women. Nevertheless, tales of the quest for eternal life recur across every single civilisation we know. There are accounts of rejuvenating springs and immortalising elixirs in every historical culture, from Alexander the Great in ancient Greece, to the Crusaders, ancient India, ancient China, ancient Japan and everywhere in between.

In fact, one of the oldest pieces of literature ever is about just this very subject. The Epic of Gilgamesh, which dates back more than 4,000 years, tells the story of a king who leaves his people and travels to the end of the world in search of immortality. Contemporary civilisation is no exception. Though weve mostly moved on from magic springs and elixirs, we still long to uncover the secrets behind a long life. However, today, the main source of these stories is not legends and myths but scientific research. Youd think this would be unquestionable progress, but that hasnt always been the case. Science has had a few bumps on the road towards understanding ageing.

In the early twentieth century, some scientists believed that extracts from animal glands could be used to rejuvenate humans. One of these researchers, the surgeon Serge Voronoff, was convinced that consuming the animal extracts or doing infusions was not enough; no, you needed to transplant tissue directly on to people for the desired effect. After studying castrated men in Egypt, Voronoff concluded that testicles were the number one source of rejuvenation.

Naturally, he began grafting small pieces of monkey testicles on to his patients. The treatment was bizarre enough for ordinary people to avoid it like the plague. But the rich and famous loved it; they lined up in droves to try Voronoffs miraculous anti-ageing grafts. In fact, there was so much interest that Voronoff made a ton of money, and soon he started having difficulty obtaining enough monkey testicles. To secure his supply, he had to create an enclosure for the poor animals at the castle hed bought, and hire a circus trainer to breed them.

Of course, Voronoffs patients didnt end up as anything but a historical joke. They and Voronoff grew old and frail, just like Ponce de Len and his men. And just like we will unless science can find a better solution than whats come before.

Thats what this book is about how to die young as late as possible. In other words, about the nature and science of longevity and a healthy life. I promise you that you wont have to sew testicles to your thigh, or swim with flesh-eating reptiles. But nevertheless, it will be something of a journey.

Part I
NATURES WONDERS

Chapter 1

The Record Book of Longevity

Beneath the surface of the ice-blue Greenland Sea glides a huge shadow. The twenty-foot giant isnt in a hurry; its top speed is less than two miles per hour.

In Latin its called Somniosus microcephalus the sleepwalker with the tiny brain. In English, it has a slightly more flattering name: the Greenland shark. As its Latin name suggests, this shark is neither fast nor particularly quick-witted though despite this, you can find the remains of seals, reindeer and even polar bears in its stomach.

Our mysterious companion takes its time because time is something it has a lot of. When the United States was founded, it was already older than any human has ever been. When the