One microRNA keeps a plant young — and it independently evolved 'eternal youth' seven times in acacias (omnia.sas.upenn.edu)
The mechanism: miR156 is high in young plants and falls with maturity. Keep it elevated and you lock in juvenile traits — neoteny.
The striking finding: across the ~1,000-species acacia genus, that permanent-youth state evolved independently at least seven times.
The thread's grown-up reframe: aging and death aren't bugs to switch off — in most organisms they're tied to reproduction by selection.
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