749Psi Research ArchiveBUREAU 749

Immortality

Never dying

Reality checkNo immortal humans; the disputed ‘256-year-old’ Li Ching-Yuen, the verified 122-year-old Calment, and the truly ‘immortal’ HeLa cells and the immortal jellyfish.
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Li Ching-Yuen

📜 On record
‘New York Times’ 1930, 1933 reports · Chengdu Univ prof Hu Zhongqian claims to have found a 1827 Qing-government congratulation on his 150th birthday · China, Sichuan · ?–1933

A herbalist claiming birth in 1677 (256 years old); no birth record, age unverifiable.

VerdictUnverifiable.
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Jeanne Calment, 122

📜 On record
French civil records · Guinness · France, Arles · 1875–1997

The longest-lived human with complete birth records; a 2018 Russian claim that a daughter took her identity was rejected after French review.

VerdictA measurement of the human lifespan ceiling.
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HeLa cells

🔬 Achieved by science
Johns Hopkins Hospital · USA, Baltimore · 1951–present

Cells from cervical-cancer patient Henrietta Lacks have divided endlessly in labs worldwide for 70+ years, cumulatively weighing tons.

Verdict‘Immortality’ at the cellular level.
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The immortal jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii

🎓 Academic research
Discovered 1988 · studied at Kyoto Univ etc. · Mediterranean · Japan · 1988–

When injured or aged, the adult can revert to a polyp and regrow, theoretically forever.

VerdictBiological ‘rejuvenation’.
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Alcor cryonics

📜 On record
Alcor Life Extension Foundation · USA, Arizona · 1972–

200+ people preserved in liquid nitrogen after legal death, awaiting future revival.

VerdictNo one revived.
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🧬 Physical

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