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Originally published by NIH/National Human Genome Research Institute on June 30, 2023 Hydractinia's regeneration driving stem cells are stored in the lower trunk of the animal's body, far from the mouth. Credit: Darryl Leja, National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) Insights into healing and aging were discovered by National Institutes of Health researchers and their collaborators, who studied how a tiny sea creature regenerates an entire new body from only its mouth . The researchers sequenced RNA from Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus , a small, tube-shaped animal that lives on the s hells of hermit crabs . Just as the Hydractinia were beginning to regenerate new bodies, the researchers detected a molecular signature associated with the biological process of aging, also known as senescence . According to the study published in Cell Reports , Hydractinia demonstrates that the fundamental biological processes of healing and aging are intertwined , providing