Jellyfish Become Immortal - 05/01/09 01:54 AM
A small Mediterranean Jellyfish discovered back in 1883,
reproduced lived and died like any other animal, or Jellyfish.
That is until a few years ago, that this animal can actually grow younger under stess.
When physicaly hurt or starving, this Jellyfish transforms all of its existing cells into a younger state. The jellyfish's cells are often completely transformed in the process. Muscle cells can become nerve cells or even sperm or eggs. The jellyfish turns itself into a bloblike cyst.
Which then develops into a polyp colony, essentially the first stage in jellyfish life.
The resulting polyp colony clones itself hundreds of genetically identical jellyfish—near perfect copies of the original adult.
It was recently discovered that there were 100% identical Jellyfish all over the Worlds Oceans, and on the increase. An impossibility?
Until it was discovered that they can age backwards into a baby.
Just how do these Jellyfish age without incurring the usual ravages of time?
Recent reports were dismissed that implied the jellyfish could hold a key to anti-aging drugs for humans.
But Jellyfish just might help fight one of human health's greatest threats......Cancer. Since some of the cells of this Jellyfish that were supposed to die... are able to switch off some genes and to switch on some other genes, reactivating genetic programs that were used in earlier stages of their life cycle.
***Thoughts
Thats a neat trick.
Prehaps we could learn to re-grow severed limbs?
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/01/090130-immortal-jellyfish-swarm_2.html
reproduced lived and died like any other animal, or Jellyfish.
That is until a few years ago, that this animal can actually grow younger under stess.
When physicaly hurt or starving, this Jellyfish transforms all of its existing cells into a younger state. The jellyfish's cells are often completely transformed in the process. Muscle cells can become nerve cells or even sperm or eggs. The jellyfish turns itself into a bloblike cyst.
Which then develops into a polyp colony, essentially the first stage in jellyfish life.
The resulting polyp colony clones itself hundreds of genetically identical jellyfish—near perfect copies of the original adult.
It was recently discovered that there were 100% identical Jellyfish all over the Worlds Oceans, and on the increase. An impossibility?
Until it was discovered that they can age backwards into a baby.
Just how do these Jellyfish age without incurring the usual ravages of time?
Recent reports were dismissed that implied the jellyfish could hold a key to anti-aging drugs for humans.
But Jellyfish just might help fight one of human health's greatest threats......Cancer. Since some of the cells of this Jellyfish that were supposed to die... are able to switch off some genes and to switch on some other genes, reactivating genetic programs that were used in earlier stages of their life cycle.
***Thoughts
Thats a neat trick.
Prehaps we could learn to re-grow severed limbs?
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/01/090130-immortal-jellyfish-swarm_2.html