Discover the Immortal Jellyfish: Secrets to Eternal Youth Revealed?

Turritopsis dohrnii, like all jellyfish, starts as a planula larva from a fertilized egg. After initially swimming, it settles on the seabed, forming a colony of polyps that eventually give rise to genetically identical adult jellyfish. These adult jellyfish are small, transparent, and measure about 4.5 mm (0.18 inches) across, with a red stomach and up to 90 white tentacles.

What sets Turritopsis dohrnii apart is its remarkable ability to revert back to a polyp state in response to damage or starvation, essentially rejuvenating itself. This phenomenon has earned it the nickname "the immortal jellyfish." The process, known as transdifferentiation, is of great interest to scientists for its potential applications in medicine, especially in stem cell research.

Recent genome research on this jellyfish compared it to the genome of another jellyfish species, Turritopsis rubra, which lacks this longevity ability. As a result, molecular mechanisms responsible for Turritopsis dohrnii's longevity have been identified.