Turritopsis dohrnii (commonly referred to as an immortal jellyfish) has long fascinated scientists for its remarkable ability to halt or reverse the natural aging process, earning it its moniker as the “immortal jellyfish.” This extraordinary ability earned its moniker as well.
Under stress, a medusa returns to its polyp state – much like how butterflies become caterpillars again or amphibians become tadpoles again.
Reverses Aging
Though many jellyfish (Turritopsis dohrnii) can revert back to larval stage, the so-called immortal jellyfish (Turritopsis dohrnii) appears able to continue this cycle indefinitely, seemingly dodging death by changing into cyst form; when threatened, polyps become polyps attached to seafloor which then transform into medusae spawning new adult jellyfish and the cycle repeats itself – making this creature an invaluable research tool which has helped scientists better understand cellular regeneration processes at play.
Maria Pia Miglietta, an associate professor of marine biology at Texas A&M University Galveston, studies Turritopsis dohrnii hydrozoan. For six years she and her colleagues have observed how it can reverse its life cycle in an “Back to the Future”-esque fashion – something Miglietta considers an amazing breakthrough for age research – it would be like going from being 40 back to being five! “This could be likened to living your entire life backwards!” she states. “This would be like living your entire life over again! “
However, leaving T. dohrnii without food for several days should not lead to the same horrific results as when your cousin forgot to feed their goldfish. Scientists are still studying how these creatures manage to defy death and regenerate themselves time after time.
Their latest study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that immortal jellyfish have developed unique gene sets to allow them to revert back to a younger state more easily while protecting from DNA damage caused during this process. When they compared T. dohrnii’s genome with one from a standard mortal jellyfish species they discovered differences in certain genes responsible for repair as well as maintaining end chromosomes known as telomeres – which shorten with cell division and therefore provide an indicator of age – between them both species.
Researchers hope that studying the genes underlying an immortal jellyfish’s reversion process could eventually lead to human regenerative medicines, but recognize this could take many years of work before any tangible benefits emerge. Transforming these genes into medicines that can restore cells back to younger stages and also ensure they function as they should will require intensive effort and study.
Reduces Fatigue
Researchers are researching jellyfish for various purposes, from potential treatments of muscular diseases and genetic disorders to potential ways of slowing the aging process naturally. Scientists recently reversed 30 years of human skin cell aging by using a jellyfish-derived peptide. This peptide prevented cell degeneration without disrupting functionality of any organelles within cells themselves.
JPHT-2, produced through multienzyme hydrolysis of frozen-dried jellyfish collagen from R. esculentum jellyfish, demonstrated high antioxidant and haemostatic activity. As such, this natural bioactive substance could prove highly useful as an anti-fatigue treatment in medicinal or nutraceutical products.
Scientists had only previously discovered this ability in two animals–an immortal jellyfish and an Echinococcus granulosus tapeworm–but their discovery is quite unexpected in Ctenophores or Ctenophidians such as Ctenophores comb jelly. “The fact that this widespread and robust mechanism exists for bypassing death in an invertebrate was truly exciting to us”, states marine biologist Joan Soto-Angel.
Turritopsis dohrnii has devised an ingenious survival strategy, which allows it to evade predators and environmental stresses that would otherwise kill it. When threatened by starvation or injury, when threatened with starvation or injury the medusa changes back into its larval form as an attached mass of tissue that changes into an immature polyp that can reproduce sexually – and the cycle continues!
So how does this reversal happen? To find out, researchers compared the genomes of T. dohrnii with that of related jellyfish species that age normally. They discovered that T. dohrnii has variations in genes responsible for DNA repair and maintaining ends of chromosomes that shorten with ageing cells, which was surprising but intriguing.
T. dohrnii stands out among jellyfish species due to its extraordinary power to avoid predators and survive until sexual maturity. Unfortunately, other species tend to lose this capability when reaching sexual maturity; T. dohrnii surprisingly retains this advantage as researchers believe its survival depends on it in order to reproduce.
Increases Energy
Researchers have long been in pursuit of the Fountain of Youth, but one creature may hold the key: jellyfish. A hydrozoan called an immortal jellyfish has proven that it can defy aging; scientists recently unveiled how this remarkable organism does so.
Like its fellow jellyfish, the immortal jellyfish starts off life as an fertilized egg that hatches quickly after swimming away from its parent medusae. Following an initial swim phase, it attaches to surface and develops into larvae before developing into polyps — tube-shaped jellyfish with mouth at one end and feet at the other — that eventually split off and give rise to new medusae – repeating its cycle until finally death comes knocking – yet this cycle may be altered through reverse biological clocking reverting back into its polyp stage! While this process normally follows its normal path; immortal jellyfish have an ability to stop death by switching back into its polyp stage reverting back into polyp stage upon itself after having become precoccialized with polyp stage before birth and repeats itself cycle until death occurs by simply switching back into polyp stage.
Reversing their transdifferentiation process is no difficult feat; indeed, immortal jellyfish have proven this many times over two years. To do this, the animal shrinks, absorbs its tentacles back in and loses the ability to swim before settling onto the sea floor as a blob. After 24 to 36 hours this blob develops into medusa shape before maturing further and producing polyps – this process known as transdifferentiation mirrors how butterflies metamorphose back into caterpillars or amphibians becoming amphibians!
Scientists wanted to learn how the immortal jellyfish had managed this extraordinary feat, so they sequenced its genome, or complete set of genetic instructions, and compared it with that of Turritopsis rubra (a mortal red jellyfish), finding twice as many DNA repair genes and protective proteins, plus unique mutations which inhibit cell division while protecting telomeres (caps on chromosomes) from degrading over time. They concluded this approach led to extraordinary longevity among their population of immortal crimson jellyfish.
Unfortunately, even an immortal jellyfish cannot escape death entirely; like its counterparts, it may become prey or die naturally over time. Yet this incredible creature has given scientists hope for regenerative medicine as its ability to reverse aging could one day help humans do the same.
Strengthens Muscles
Most animals age only once; not so for Turritopsis dohrnii jellyfish, commonly dubbed an immortal jellyfish. When injured or starving conditions worsen, its biological clock can be reset backward by changing into tentacled larva form before maturing back into an adult as conditions improve – providing scientists with new insights into aging processes as well as possible means to combat diseases sooner. This trick may help them understand aging processes better as well as discover novel approaches to delay disease onset.
Scientists led by Maria Pascual-Torner at Spain’s University of Oviedo conducted extensive DNA sequencing on an immortal jellyfish and then compared its genome with that of its close relative that does not possess rejuvenation capabilities. They discovered that this particular immortal jellyfish had twice as many genes related to DNA repair and protection, which may help it stave off aging; additionally, this organism features special mutations that prevent cell division while protecting telomeres (protective caps on end chromosomes) from wearing away over time.
Researchers believe that the same genes which enable an immortal jellyfish to revert to its polyp stage could also strengthen muscles and enable them to endure greater stress levels. Through experiments on mice, researchers discovered that administering JCH reduced blood lactic acid and BUN levels while increasing hepatic glycogen and muscle glycogen. This suggests it may provide a potential basis for future studies on anti-fatigue and anti-oxidative effects in humans.
Regeneration research can be complex, and to identify its key steps requires many different model systems. Jellyfish provide an ideal platform for exploring regeneration mechanisms due to their relatively simple structures and transparent bodies, making cellular and molecular processes easier to observe. Furthermore, their high regenerative potential from organ to whole body regeneration can easily be realized in the laboratory thanks to advances in genomics and gene editing technologies.
Though more research needs to be conducted to fully comprehend jellyfish regeneration mechanisms, their reversal of aging provides valuable clues for understanding human aging and preventing degenerative diseases. Perhaps someday these insights might even lead to new medications which reverse or delay aging while decreasing fatigue levels and increasing energy. These medicines could also potentially alleviate other ailments like muscular disorders and genetic conditions.
