They say nothing in life is guaranteed except death and taxes. But, are taxes the only one sure thing? Pupils ponder the possibility of eternal life with the ageless examples of the mole rat and jellyfish. The narrator discusses why our cells simply stop replicating and how some species in the plant and animal kingdoms produce an enzyme that ensures replication can continue.

Concepts

aging, cells, cell division, dna, dna replication, jellyfish, metamorphosis

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Use the video in an advance life science class to dig deeper into the process of replication
• Challenge paired learners to discover additional organisms that age differently or don't seem to age

Classroom Considerations

• Do a quick review of DNA replication for learners that are not as familiar with the cell structures involved

• This video is hosted on YouTube

Pros

• The video creatively explains difficult subject matter in a way that young scientists can relate to
• Animations help to illustrate the shortening of telomeres in human DNA that ultimately causes no new cells to be produced

Cons

• None

Common Core

SL.6.2 SL.7.2 SL.9-10.2