Can we imagine a creature in this world that can live forever and is immortal? No, we can't imagine this as it seems to be a story from a science fictional movie but actually this kind of creature exists in this world. Deep in the oceans live tiny organisms which are called "Turritopsis dohrnii" sometimes called the immortal jelly fish. Although it has a small size yet it has captured the attention of scientists and animal lovers from all over the world.
This article will help you to learn how jelly fish manages to avoid death and why it could have some secrets that may change human life.
THE IMMORTAL FISH:
The "Turritopsis dohrnii" is a transparent jelly fish of size almost 4 to 5 millimeters.It looks simple and unimportant but it has one of the remarkable and unbelievable abilities discovered till date.
All creatures on earth follow a life cycle including stages like birth , growth and death but this jellyfish has the ability to prevent aging by changing itself from adult to a young stage of its life.
THE SECRET BEHIND THE IMMORTALITY OF JELLYFISH:
For getting a clear understanding of how this fish lives immortal we have ti see how actually a typical jellyfish lives.
A jellyfish goes through following stages:
1. Fertilized egg
2. Larva
3. Polyp ( an immovable, plant like stage)
4. Adult jellyfish
When jellyfish becomes adult , it reproduces and dies. But the immortal jellyfish has some different way of living.
When it faces
●Physical damage
●Starvation
●Environmental stress
●Aging
It transforms its body into earlier polyp stage body. This process helps it to start its life cycle again and in this way it resets its biological clock.
SCIENCE BEHIND THIS:
The jellyfish attains this epic transformation by a process which is called "transdifferentiation".
Simply we can say that transdifferentation is the process which allows cell to change from one type to another. For example a mature and specialized muscle cell can change into nerve cell.This is very rare characteristic in animal kingdom.
In case of this jelly fish:
● Mature cells revert to a flexible state
●The cells reorganize into new cell types
●The entire body reshapes into younger form.
This ability helps it to gain the place in one of the animals which are able to reverse their development.
IS IT TRULY IMMORTAL?
As this fish is sometimes called immortle this term can be misleading.
It does not die from:
●old age
●Natural aging process
But it can die from:
●Being eaten by predators
●Diseases
●Environmental pollution
So, we can say that jellyfish is unbeatable but in biological terms it is immortle which means theoretically it can live forever if there are no external threats.
LOCATION OF THIS REMARKABLE CREATURE:
This fish was first discovered in Mediterranean Sea,but it is now found in oceans all over the world which include:
●The Atlantic ocean
●The pacific ocean
●Coastal regions of many countries
Because it has extremely small size and has transparent body,it sometimes goes unnoticed but it can be more widespread than we can think.
SCIENTIST'S INTEREST:
You must ne thinking that why scientists are interested in this tiny jelly fish. Researchers are studying this fish closely because its abilities can help them to answer humanity's big questions.
ADVANCEMENT IN MEDICAL FIELD:
The process of trans differentiation can help in:
●Regenerating damaged tissues.
●Treating Alzhiemer's disease.
●Healing injuries
CELLULAR REASEARCH:
The jelly fish gives an unmatched example of cell reprogramming which is major area of study in modern biology.
A UNIQUE PLACE IN THE KINGDOM ANIMALIA:
The "TURRITOPSIS DOHRNII" has a unique placement and status in the kingdom animalia because many organims can regenarate their body parts but no one can reset its life cycle which this immortle fish can do.
For example:
●Some starfishes can regenerate their limbs
●Certain lizards can regrow their tails
But no one can completely convert from adult to its younger age
FUN AND SURPRISING FACTS:
●It is sometimes called "Benjamin Button of the sea"
●It is extremely fragile and easily fishes can prey on them.
●Its discovery has changed the mindset of scientists about life and death.
●It may have survived for millions of years without being noticed by someone.
In short we can say that oceans are full of mysteries but "Turrtopsis dohrnii" the animal that can escape death by turning time back is very unique and attention seeker for people from all our the world.
As the scientists are studying this tiny creature it can lead to discovery of many secrets that could change the medicine field. Untill then we can say that nature has wonders which we cannot even begin to imagine.
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