Can the secrets of a 400-year-old shark unlock the key to reversing aging?

The Greenland shark lives for 400 years. Black coral can survive for 4,000. And jellyfish, in theory, do not age at all. South Korean researchers are now turning to these remarkable marine creatures to develop technology that could reverse aging in humans.

The Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST) announced Thursday that it has launched a research project to develop age-reversing marine materials by harnessing the aging resistance found in ocean organisms. The project is funded through the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries' program for developing biotech materials derived from marine life to overcome aging.

Unlike conventional anti-aging approaches that slow the aging process, age-reversal technology aims to restore already-aged cells to a younger, healthier state. Because it targets aging itself rather than merely decelerating it, the field is drawing attention as a next-generation biotech frontier.

The research team will search for marine-organism-derived candidates to replace metformin — a diabetes drug that is currently the most actively studied anti-aging compound. While metformin has shown anti-aging potential, questions remain about its long-term safety for healthy individuals, and concerns have been raised that most of the drug is excreted from the body and may affect the environment.

KIOST plans to identify functional materials from marine organisms with superior DNA repair and regenerative capabilities and use them to secure candidate substances that could replace metformin.

Preliminary research has already shown promise. A salmon-derived candidate material demonstrated up to 56% greater anti-aging effect than metformin in cell experiments. In tissue tests, it showed 3.8 times greater improvement in wrinkle reduction, 3.6 times greater skin elasticity and 2.9 times greater skin density.

However, the research team said the results were confirmed only at the cellular and tissue level, and that additional research — including animal testing and safety verification — is needed before the findings can be applied to humans.

Going forward, the team plans to build a library of marine-organism-based age-reversal materials and develop diagnostic sensors and an "age-reversal index" to rapidly assess the efficacy of candidate substances. The materials will also be applied to functional cosmetics, wound dressings and Alzheimer's treatment candidate development.

The project will receive a total of 19.5 billion won ($13.7 million) through 2031.

Park Geon-hu, a researcher at KIOST's Jeju Bio Research Center, said the ocean, which holds more than 4 billion years of history, is "a vast laboratory where life has adapted to aging." He added that the team would verify efficacy and safety in sequence to extend healthy life expectancy and strengthen the competitiveness of the marine biotech industry, now that initial possibilities have been confirmed.