Many, many miles west of South America lies a small, triangle-shaped island housing hundreds of ancient, giant stone statues. The native name for this island is Rapa Nui and, in 1722, explorers from Europe visited it on Easter Sunday. Afterwards, this piece of land came to also be known as Easter Island.
Centuries later, a research expedition originating from Halifax, Canada sailed all the way to this remote island. During their visit, the researchers collected many different kinds of specimens for future research, including a simple jar of dirt that was destined to transform longevity science.
Shortly after the expedition,…
