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Are elves' long lives realistic?
BBC Science Focus
|August 2022
What's the biology behind the elves' extended lifespans in The Lord Of The Rings?
The new The Lord Of The Rings TV show, The Rings Of Power, is a prequel set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, thousands of years before Frodo takes his long walk to Mordor. And yet, the show features familiar characters like Elrond and Galadriel, elves who were alive during the original The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. According to the lore of author J. R. R. Tolkien, this is because elven lifespans are tied to the fate of the Earth, effectively making them immortal. But this is not BBC Magic Focus you're reading. Surely there must be a biological reason for how elves manage to live so long, while we age, decay and die?
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