An Immortal Jellyfish?

Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon sought in vain for the Fountain of Youth that would confer eternal life. Modern researchers think humans may some day live as much as 500 years. (Bowhead whales in the Arctic have been documented to live for more than a century.) Heck, there's even a new film out about one man's quest to live forever.

Well, the search may be over, the goal of immortality attained -- by a hydrozoan jellyfish.

It appears that Turritopsis nutricula may indeed be Earth's only immortal creature. (Note: The photo features a similar hydrozoan jelly, the giant bell jelly, Scrippsia pacifica.)

The key lies in T. nutricula's life cycle, which (as with other jellies) is quite different from the stages of most other animals. Jellies exist both as free-swimming adult medusae -- the versions with tentacles that we're familiar with -- and as anemone-like polyps, stalked creatures like jellies' anemone and coral relatives.

Typically, adult medusae produce larvae that settle and grow into polyps. The polyps then bud off new jellies that grow into adult medusae, and the cycle begins again.

Apparently T. nutricula can reverse the process -- changing back to the immature polyp stage after growing into the adult medusa. (Hence the potential for immortality.)

Details here.

So....what do you think?

Comments

[Tim Howes]

Well, if you think about it, all animals go through a cycle of reverting to a larval stage and growing back into an adult. Most of us just call it reproduction.

What this jellyfish is doing is essentially a form of asexual reproduction.

[Megadyne]

There is some of the weirdest things in the deep sea. Very weird, but amazing!

[banana MAN]

jellyfish ARE animals and NO they don't remember AS THEY DON'T HAVE a brain :) so unhappily "Mr. max" you can never know.bwa ha ha ha banana MAN is not my real name!!!

[filipinadesire]

What is the reason why some jelly fish will run out? I hope they will have more jelly fish in the ocean they are part of the sea to live there.

[Ikè]

And Buddha was reborn -- as a jelly fish.

[Charlesmandang]

um, Jellyfish are animals because
1. They are in the animilia kingdom of taxa
2. Their cells are clearly animal cells: containing no cell wall, having a philosphid (or how ever you spell it) bilayer, their cells work together to form tissues
3. They have tissues that make a protective layer.

I don't see why they can't be animals... but people think coral reefs aren't living anyways.

[chris]

to answer some questions - they have no brain - so therefore cannot learn - they live from basic instinct only. They arent over populating the oceans cuz not only are the small and therefore low on the food chain and eaten by many others sealife - only certain conditions in the sea are habitable by them for breeding conditions

[Matt Shepherd]

Are Jellyfish technically animals?
They have no brain or other organs.. which're the big things that wear out (preventing imortaility) in humans & other animals.

[John Isokof]

This is unfrickin belevable, We now know that dangerous things can last 4ever, while the good things pass! LOL

[Anonymous]

It can't be the only "immortal" animal, because im living forever >:O...mark that...i doubt i will :*(
Anyways, badass jellyfish

[mememe]

omg im having one as a pet and its going to be past on to greneration to genaration

[Max]

If they live forever there would be to many of them and the ocean would be over populated with the jelly fish.If they live forever do they remember what they had learned? Or do they just forget everything? Now that I want to know.

[guava man(flyrocketfly)]

you know what?
i can't extend my imagination to start it all over again from my premature stage..... maybe i just can't feel it to be a jellyfish..

[Ken Peterson]

Thanks for all the interest and comments.
- To subscribe via RSS, click "Subscribe to this blog's feed" in the left navigation bar, above Sites I Enjoy

- Jellies don't have the problem we'd have with regrowing a brain -- because they don't have one! No brain, no heart, no spine, no central nervous system. Pretty simple animals, but a design that's been around for millions of years.

- You'll find lots more jellyfish info on our website, www.montereybayaquarium.org

Ken Peterson
Monterey Bay Aquarium

[Michele]

I hope that WE will leave it alone and just let the "jellyfish" just be. WE always have to mess with nature until we kill it off! can we just discover it and enjoy it for once?

[dinesha]

I need a information about jelly fish

[harold searcy]

The way the jellyfish is said to aboutface and return to youth, brings to mind the Benjamin Buttons story. I'm wondering if this is where they got the idea. If anyone out there knows, please respond. Thanks, Harry Searcy

[Joel]

I see. Unlike most animals that try to endure the process of aging, this animal apparently is able to reverse the process of aging. It's like constantly repairing a building, rather than making it heavy enough to endure the elements.

If we could regrow tissue, we'd be doing something similar. The greatest challenge however, is the brain. You can't simply splice an animal with human genes and then just replace the brain. Not only would you be replacing the person, you'd be giving the body an inexperienced brain. And then it takes time to habilitate that brain. However, if it was possible to regrow pieces of the brain little-by-little, then it would preserve both the mind and the memories... with some slight changes of course.

[imashi]

"The curious case of a freakin' Jellyfish"

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