The Immortal Jellyfish Can Reverse Aging
One creature may have discovered the secret to delaying aging; Turritopsis dohrnii jellyfish is known as an immortal jellyfish as its form regularly changes back into that of its juvenile form.
Scientists enumerated T. dohrnii’s genome to understand its genetic makeup. When compared with Turritopsis rubra’s crimson jellyfish genetic cousin, T. dohrnii had some unique variations in its genes which allowed for better DNA copying and protection from decay, according to research results.
The Immortal Jellyfish
Most jellyfish spend their lives drifting around the oceans and recycling their matter back into our global oceans’ vast nutrient bank. But when faced with predators, starvation or physical assault from predatory organisms, or physical assault by other jellyfish – even larger creatures – a solitary adult jellyfish (medusa) has an incredible trick up its sleeve: It can revert back into an immature polyp stage and restart life from scratch; hence its name “immortal jellyfish”. Scientists have unlocked this remarkable creature’s remarkable ability to reverse aging – unwitness aging by hacking its own cell cycle!
Scientists from Spain’s University of Oviedo studied how an immortal jellyfish regenerates itself by sequencing its genome – its complete set of genetic instructions — and comparing it with that of its mortal relative (“Turritopsis rubra”). They discovered that T. dohrnii has twice as many copies of genes associated with DNA repair and protection, which allowed it to produce more restorative proteins; additionally, its unique mutations stunted cell division while protecting telomeres (the protective caps on ends of chromosomes) from further degradation.
While other cnidarians may regenerative themselves, only immortal jellyfish have been shown to do it repeatedly postsexual reproduction. To accomplish this feat, their medusa reduces itself into an extremely tiny clump of tissue before turning back into polyps and beginning their lives as adults again – something similar to how butterflies turn back into caterpillars or amphibians back into tadpoles!
The immortal jellyfish accomplishes this by altering its cells’ normal function, changing from medusa cells that require medusa extracting specialized medusa extractors into polyp cells that reproduce asexually, much like stem cells can transform into various cell types to heal damaged tissues. Transdifferentiation allows an immortal jellyfish to return to a medusa form through repeated cell differentiation, changing back from polyp cells into medusa cells – eventually becoming bigger each time as its transdifferentiation cycle repeats itself. Scientists behind this study believe that understanding how an immortal jellyfish regenerates could eventually provide insights into ways of curing human aging and other illnesses – but warn their research does not have immediate commercial value.
Scientists Unlock the Secrets
Scientists have successfully cracked the genetic code of an irreversibly juvenile jellyfish species known as an immortal jellyfish – one with the ability to turn back time even after sexual reproduction! Their remarkable abilities earned this rare ability its moniker “immortal jellyfish”, while scientists hope decoding its secrets may provide valuable insight into human aging processes.
At the University of Oviedo in Spain, researchers led by Maria Pascual-Torner and Victor Quesada examined the genome of an immortal jellyfish called Turritopsis dohrnii with that of its close relatives that do not possess this extraordinary capability. What they discovered is that T. dohrnii has variations in its genes which may make it better at copying DNA, repairing damaged chromosomes, maintaining telomere length – something many animals experience as they age – contributing significantly to human aging as telomere length decreases with age in most animals, humans included; therefore contributing significantly to human aging as a contributory factor of our ageing.
Jellyfish have long been prized as food and medical products. Their venom, which contains numerous natural compounds with medical uses, has long been utilized in drug production to treat conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. Furthermore, its peptides may even have potential to prevent Alzheimer’s by blocking an enzyme responsible for breaking down brain cells.
As for food, millions of people worldwide enjoy jellyfish as part of a balanced diet in restaurants and markets around the world. While jellyfish stingers may cause injury, these sea squirters contain virtually no calories and high levels of protein; in fact, one 75 gram serving has only 36 Calories and four Grams of Protein making it a fantastic alternative to meat or fish dishes.
Manufacturers seeking to expand the market for jellyfish must work toward normalizing its consumption among Western consumers, which may prove challenging given widespread distaste for eating insects and which has prevented significant headway in creating a viable commercial market for this marine food product. Meanwhile, researchers are cultivating jellyfish specifically for human consumption but this will take years before being ready for commercialization due to extensive safety testing requirements and strict regulations.
The Jellyfish’s Secrets to Longevity
As people strive to become immortal, a jellyfish has made headlines for its remarkable ability to defy death and even reverse aging, according to Science Alert. Its remarkable feat earned this marine creature the moniker “Benjamin Button jellyfish.” Turritopsis dohrnii is one of few organisms capable of fully regenerating itself after sexual reproduction allowing it to return back into polyp form before reproducing again, significantly contributing to its longevity as well as providing valuable clues for human anti-ageing research.
Jellyfish lack brains, hearts, or bones – yet they still manage to defy time’s effects through an unusual biological process called transdifferentiation. Simply put, transdifferentiation means their cells can change their internal structures to any type of cell found throughout their bodies – meaning a jellyfish may return to its younger polyp state after experiencing stressors such as shark attacks or sudden drops in water temperature.
Scientists sought to gain more insight into this phenomenon by analyzing T. dohrnii’s genetic code to gain a better understanding of its ability to stay youthful. Maria Pascual Torner from Oviedo University in Spain led an examination that compared its genome with that of its close cousin (Turritopsis rubra). Their team discovered that T. dohrnii’s variations seemed better at copying DNA and maintaining the ends of chromosomes called telomeres which shorten as it gets older.
They discovered that unlike other jellyfish species, T. dohrnii contained two sets of gene instructions dedicated to regeneration, making the medusae much healthier than before. When researchers silenced those genes responsible, T. dohrnii’s gene set contained twice as many instructions devoted to protecting DNA and telomeres than its mortal cousin’s did – leading them to their conclusion: that T. dohrnii had twice as many instructions to preserve telomeres than its mortal cousin counterpart did!
Research published in Plos ONE could lead to new anti-aging drugs or methods of prolonging life, but its impact remains to be fully understood. Monty Graham, professor of marine biology at University of Florida who was not involved in this study but is familiar with it, told Reuters that while these findings may be intriguing they do not hold commercial value.
The Jellyfish’s Secrets to Reversing Aging
Scientists have recently discovered an amazing jellyfish species capable of reversing the effects of aging, returning back into its younger state before maturing again. This “immortal” creature may hold key insights for unlocking human anti-ageing strategies.
Turritopsis dohrnii’s immortal jellyfish may not exactly live up to their reputation of defying mortality; but they come close. Through a process known as transdifferentiation, when injured they undergo transformation that allows them to transform back into plant-like polyps that form onto the sea floor and eventually grow into adult medusae and reproduce sexually; giving these animal another lifecycle in effect cloning them!
Understanding how T. dohrnii uses evolutionary tricks has long been a source of fascination, yet finding out exactly why has proven difficult. To do so, scientists sequenced its genome and compared it with one from an closely related species without this ability; their findings, published in 2022 by PNAS, revealed that the latter contained twice as many genes associated with DNA repair and protection, along with mutations preventing its telomeres–the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes–from shortening over time.
T. dohrnii scientists made perhaps their greatest discovery yet when they identified that T. dohrnii represses PRC2 gene which triggers cellular senescence; the process in which cells stop dividing after reaching full size and stop replicating. Repressing PRC2 could be key to immortality; furthermore, its discovery could shed light on how other species–including humans–rejuvenate themselves over time.
Next steps in T. dohrnii rejuvenation research involve testing whether T. dohrnii’s PRC2 gene can be used to reprogram adult cells into stem cell-like states for rejuvenation processes like transdifferentiation. If successful, that could pave the way towards reversing human aging and treating diseases associated with it such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. But before we get too optimistic, let us be realistic: this is only an initial step; researchers must first find other means of repressing PRC2 before beginning testing on people.
