Saturday, 28 August 2021 09:26 pm
The Immortal Jellyfish
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deckardcanineThe Turritopsis dohrnii, or immortal jellyfish,
Can do what many humans rather seriously wish:
When subject to a sudden drop in temperature or salt
Or starved or greatly damaged, it reverts to its default—
That is, becomes a polyp after something like a cyst
Or else becomes a stolon, and the first stage might be missed.
In time, it forms a colony to bud and then release
Medusae like its grown-up form and thus may not decease.
Genetically identical medusae, more or less,
Are found across the oceans. That’s survival with finesse!
The process of their cells is called transdifferentiation.
It might reveal the secret to our own rejuvenation.
Can do what many humans rather seriously wish:
When subject to a sudden drop in temperature or salt
Or starved or greatly damaged, it reverts to its default—
That is, becomes a polyp after something like a cyst
Or else becomes a stolon, and the first stage might be missed.
In time, it forms a colony to bud and then release
Medusae like its grown-up form and thus may not decease.
Genetically identical medusae, more or less,
Are found across the oceans. That’s survival with finesse!
The process of their cells is called transdifferentiation.
It might reveal the secret to our own rejuvenation.