The longest-lived animal in the ocean is the lighthouse jellyfish.
Biological Introduction
1. The tiny marine creature "Turritopsis nutricula" is probably the only creature in the world that will not die. Unless death is caused by bad conditions, theoretically the lighthouse jellyfish will not die. For a certain lighthouse jellyfish, scientists can't tell how old it is.
2. The "Lighthouse Jellyfish" is only 4-5 mm in diameter, but it is such a very tiny creature, but it has a magical ability to "rejuvenate itself". Normally, jellyfish will die after reproducing the next generation, but after reaching sexual maturity, the "lighthouse jellyfish" will return to the young stage and start another life process, and in theory, this cycle The process starts over and over again and can be repeated forever.
3. "Lighthouse jellyfish" belongs to the class Hydrozoa. It is a predatory organism that mainly feeds on smaller microorganisms. It uses asexual reproduction and mostly lives in tropical seas. Scientists stress that the "lighthouse jellyfish" is the only creature so far found that can revert from sexual maturity to the larval stage.
Distribution area
The lighthouse jellyfish was first discovered in the Caribbean. Since the individuals do not decrease during the reproduction process, the number rapidly increases and spreads to all oceans. Dr. Miguelita of the Smithsonian Tropical Oceanographic Institution said: "The world is suffering from a silent invasion." The newspaper said the secret to the lighthouse jellyfish's immortality lies in its cell differentiation process, and scientists are further studying the exact reason.
Immortality
How the "Lighthouse Jellyfish" completes the miraculous process of "rejuvenating" remains a mystery that remains to be solved by marine biologists and geneticists. answer.
Some researchers believe that the "rejuvenation" process of "Lighthouse Jellyfish" may be achieved through the process of cell transdifferentiation. The process of lighthouse jellyfish turning from adult to larvae is to transform body cells into powerful stem cells. The transformed stem cells are somewhat similar to embryonic cells and can re-divide into new tissues or lives. In the past, it was believed that the process of life development was irreversible, so it was believed that it was impossible for somatic cells to return to the stem cell state. During this process, the cell type and function change. Accompanying this functional transformation is organ regeneration. Perhaps it is this process of cell change that gives the "lighthouse jellyfish" its immortal body.
Regeneration ability
1. "Lighthouse jellyfish" belongs to the class Hydrozoa. It is a predatory organism that mainly feeds on smaller microorganisms. It adopts asexual reproduction and has many lives. in tropical seas. Scientists stress that the "lighthouse jellyfish" is the only creature so far found that can revert from sexual maturity to the larval stage. According to a scientist who has been engaged in the research of "lighthouse jellyfish" for a long time, he has observed about 4,000 "lighthouse jellyfish". The results show that all of them can "rejuvenate" and none of them died due to their own reasons.
2. As for how the "lighthouse jellyfish" completes the miraculous process of "rejuvenating", the mystery remains to be solved by marine biologists and geneticists. Some researchers believe that the "rejuvenation" process of "Lighthouse Jellyfish" may be achieved through the process of cell transdifferentiation. During this process, the cell type and function change. Accompanying this functional transformation is organ regeneration. Perhaps it is this process of cell change that gives the "lighthouse jellyfish" its immortal body.
3. If a lighthouse jellyfish is cut open, it can turn into two hydrozoans within 24 hours and grow tentacles after 72 hours. Even if it is broken into pieces, as long as its cells are intact, it can turn into a hydrozoan and start life again. It can be understood this way - the life of the lighthouse jellyfish has no end. In other words, before death, the lighthouse jellyfish returns to the beginning of life and reinterprets its own growth and development.