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Immortal jellyfish: Does it really live forever?
The Turritopsis nutricula jellyfish has displayed a remarkable ability to regenerate its cells in times of crisis.
Wed, Apr 13 2011 at 1:33 PM
Photo: Peter Schuchert/The Hydrozoa Directory
While it is often joked that cats have nine lives, a certain species of jellyfish has been deemed “immortal” by scientists who have observed its ability to, when in crisis, revert its cells to their earliest form and grow anew. That means that these tiny creatures, 4 mm to 5 mm long, potentially have infinite lives.
The creature, known scientifically as Turritopsis nutricula, was discovered in the Mediterranean Sea in 1883, but its unique regeneration was not known until the mid-1990s. How does the process work? If a mature Turritopsis is threatened — injured or starving, for example — it attaches itself to a surface in warm ocean waters and converts into a blob. From that state, its cells undergo transdifferentiation, in which the cells essentially transform into different types of cells. Muscle cells can become sperm or eggs, or nerve cells can change into muscle cells, “revealing a transformation potential unparalleled in the animal kingdom,” according to the original study of the species published in 1996.
Since the Turritopsis’ virtual immortality was discovered, so have swarms of genetically identical jellyfish far from their original habitat, including in Japan, Spain and the Atlantic Ocean side of Panama. Researchers have concluded that these multiplying creatures are getting caught in ballast waters, water that is sucked into and pumped out of the long distance cargo ships. Polyps also could be growing on the ship’s hulls. Though genetically identical, these jellyfish seem to have adapted to their new environments. For example, specimens from swarms living in tropical waters have been found to have eight tentacles, while those discovered in temperate regions have 24 or more tentacles.
But Turritopsis can — and do — die. Their regeneration only occurs after sexual maturation, therefore they can succumb to predators or disease in the polyp stage. But because the jellyfish are the only known animal with this “immortality,” scientists are studying them closely, with the hopes of applying what they learn to issues such as human aging and illness.
Related post on MNN: 10 animals with the longest lifespans
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hmm quite. very interesting indeed.
So God puts an 'immortal' jellyfish on earth and when humans discover it, they can believe it's almost immortality, but deny his eternalness? Makes perfect sense.
Calm down. I may agree with you, but not everyone else does. You need to respect other people's religions, opinions, and views.
LOL. Nothing "put" this creature on earth. It evolved from a simpler form.
It is also not immortal, as it--along with whatever life still exists at the time--will die in 5.4 billion years when the Sun becomes a red giant and "eats" the inner planets, including Earth.
So it's pretty much The Doctor.
could u use these creatures to learn from and study their dna and compare our cells to theirs and therefore try to create a medical breakthrough that we can use to cure illnesses and possibly make it possible for humans to become imortal
Why would we want that? Unless used purely for people like professors, to further advance technology. Also I would highly doubt we could do that for at least 200 years. We are talking about turning a grown man into a baby
This jellyfish is not the only immortal living organism, the "Hydra" small solitair sea creature, also possess this amazing ability. The "Hydra" is what i plan to study once i have my ph.d in chemistry, biology and fysisks. and i will not share my secrets of immortallity with anyone!
I still don't see how destroying the planet is going to help ensure our species existence?
Also humans reach a point where they can no longer contribute to the next generation, so increasing your life span past this point would not help the species but be detrimental as you would be occupying resources that are necessary for the next generation to survive until the reproductive stage.
And thats from a biological/ecological stand point not a moral one.
Almost all creatures other than humans live in perfect symbiosis with their environments. The giant ant eater will not eat its fill at a termite mound and instead moves from mound to mound after a few minutes at each. The ant eater realizes that its existence depends upon the survival of the termites. Your "natural" rule is flawed.
Evolution has truely yeilded a most amazing and complex planet. A lifetime seems hardly long enough to observe this beautiful planet, so don't waste any of it, get out there and take a look.
wow immortality is way overrated
Regeneration is really not the same thing as immortality. If it can die, it's not immortal.
Dude it's biologically immortal not God or Zeus immortal.
Thanks for your input! I'm sure hundreds of scientists and even the average reader didn't know that it was just a name not to be taken literally (it even says in the article they die, but most of us probably miss that, because we're stupid).
Well, someone did miss that, specifically, the commenter he was replying to. Maybe you should actually read the comment above before posting a snide, sarcastic comment.
It has the potential to be immortal.
It also stated that, it cannot do this until it reaches sexual maturity.
So, this thing can...regenerate?... Does it have an unopenable pocketwatch on it?
So that's how Doctor Who does it....
That's cool.
so can u live forever
So we can learn to live forever? That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen
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