“I imagine you know folks who are in their 80s, maybe in their 90s, who are sharp, lively and very active,” said NPR science correspondent Robert Krulwich on the air recently. “But here's the thing—if you were a lobster, and especially if you were a very old lobster, all your colleagues, or almost all of them, would be sharp as tacks. Because, as best scientists can tell, lobsters age so gracefully they show no measurable signs of aging: no loss of appetite, no change in metabolism, no loss of reproductive urge or ability, no decline in strength or health.”
You can listen to Krulwich’s entertaining report on lobster aging here. Krulwich talks with lobster scientist Jelle Atema, one of the main characters in my book The Secret Life of Lobsters. The report includes an amusing musical score, with “Leroy the Lobster” singing the virtues of his glorious old age.
