Study finds 194-year-old tortoise is 'aging more slowly than you would expect'
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By Kathryn Fink, Mary Louise Kelly, Mallory Yu

Thursday, October 8, 2026 • 5:19 PM EDT

Heard on All Things Considered Transcript
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Our next story is about a contemporary of Charles Darwin and Queen Victoria who is still alive. His name is Jonathan. He's 194 years old, give or take, and he is a giant tortoise who lives on the island of St. Helena in the south Atlantic Ocean. Jonathan is the oldest known living land animal in the world. And according to a study out this week in the journal Science Advances, his genes may yield important clues about why we age and possibly how to slow it down. Justin Gerlach was part of the team behind this research. He is director of biology studies at Peterhouse at the University of Cambridge in England. Justin Gerlach, welcome.

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