{
  "id": 13697175,
  "title": "An extremely old giant tortoise named Jonathan may hold the secret to a long, healthy life",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/11/an-extremely-old-giant-tortoise-named-jonathan-may-hold-the-secret-to",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-11T11:00:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Medical Xpress",
    "slug": "medical-xpress",
    "url": "https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-extremely-giant-tortoise-jonathan-secret.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "An international team of scientists, led by a neurologist and genomics experts from Vanderbilt Health, has discovered a potential key to longevity in Jonathan, a 194-year-old giant tortoise. Jonathan's secret lies in the low methylation entropy of promoters involved in mitochondrial function and RNA processing. Mitochondrial dysfunction, caused by increasing entropy or disorder, is a hallmark of aging. Despite Jonathan's age, his genes regulating mitochondrial energy production retained a youthful orderliness. This finding, published in Science Advances, suggests that protecting mitochondria from disordered gene expression could extend a healthy human lifespan, also known as healthspan. The research, funded by the Kallel Foundation, a nonprofit focused on longevity research, may pave the way for future clinical trials of anti-aging drugs that currently lack patent protection. Jonathan, hatched in 1832 on the Seychelles, has lived on St. Helena for over a century. Blind from cataracts but with excellent hearing, he has been visited by numerous British royals. The study, conducted by a team of experts including Steve Horvath, known for developing a methylation-based aging clock, found that Jonathan's high-fidelity gene expression in critical pathways protected him from age-related decline. Further studies using blood samples will be required to validate these findings.",
  "summary": "An international collaboration led by a neurologist and experts in advanced genomics at Vanderbilt Health has coaxed one of the secrets of extreme longevity from a 194-year-old giant tortoise named Jonathan.",
  "key_points": [
    "Jonathan, a 194-year-old giant tortoise, holds potential key to longevity",
    "Low methylation entropy in genes regulating mitochondrial function protects him",
    "Study suggests protecting mitochondria from disordered gene expression may extend human lifespan"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}