"Immortal" Jellyfish Swarm World's Oceans

nationalgeographic ^

[JoeProBono]

A potentially "immortal" jellyfish species that can age backward—the Benjamin Button of the deep—is silently invading the world's oceans, swarm by swarm, a recent study says. Like the Brad Pitt movie character, the immortal jellyfish transforms from an adult back into a baby, but with an added bonus: Unlike Benjamin Button, the jellyfish can do it over and over again—though apparently only as an emergency measure.

[JoeProBono]

How the Jellyfish Becomes "Immortal"

Turritopsis typically reproduces the old-fashioned way, by the meeting of free-floating sperm and eggs. And most of the time they die the old-fashioned way too.

But when starvation, physical damage, or other crises arise, "instead of sure death, [Turritopsis] transforms all of its existing cells into a younger state," said study author Maria Pia Miglietta, a researcher at Pennsylvania State University.

The jellyfish turns itself into a bloblike cyst, which then develops into a polyp colony, essentially the first stage in jellyfish life.

The jellyfish's cells are often completely transformed in the process. Muscle cells can become nerve cells or even sperm or eggs.

Through asexual reproduction, the resulting polyp colony can spawn hundreds of genetically identical jellyfish—near perfect copies of the original adult.

This unique approach to hardship may be helping Turritopsis swarms spread throughout the world's oceans..

[EternalVigilance]

"Immortal" Jellyfish Swarm World's Oceans

Wow. I didn't even know that Republican Senators could swim.

[chuck_the_tv_out]

“silently invading the world’s oceans, swarm by swarm”

OK, we’re all going to die. Time to begin cracking skulls.

[SunkenCiv]

“There can be only one...”

[SunkenCiv]

jellyfish species that can age backward

[MortMan]

We just have to wait for the gathering, when they'll start lopping each others heads off, right?

Heeeeeeeere we are, born to be kings, we're the princes of the universe... ;-P

[Broken_Hearts978]

Watch out, Joe Biden is out there!!!! O.O

[Bratch]

Of course they’re Republicans.

They have no spine.

[hinckley buzzard]

Weird stuff.

[SunkenCiv]

:’D

[JoeProBono]

[patton]

Not a good place to take a dip.

[JRios1968]

[JoeProBono]

[JoeProBono]

[Daffynition]

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK JELLYFISH!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Broken_Hearts978]

Ha Ha!

‘Tis true!! I’ve seen it/him!!! Be careful he’s likely to screw you over!

[JoeProBono]

HaH!

Jellyfish Pete

EEEEEEEEEWWW!

[07Jack]

When I was a kid I got stung by some jellyfish and the lifeguards on the beach put meat tenderizer on the stings which almost instantly cleared them up. True story.

[Daffynition]

I saw that ... where the heck is Andros? Looks tropical..............mmmmmmmmmm.