Humanity has long been in search of an elixirimmortality. Recent scientific evidence suggests that on our beautiful planet there is a creature that can live forever. This is a seemingly long-studied and well-known jellyfish, or rather, a small creature called the nutriculum. Want to find out how to find a jellyfish that lives forever?
Inconspicuous creations
Nutrition jellyfish known in the scientific world for a long time.The first description of this creature appeared in the nineteenth century. The reproduction and life cycle of a nutricule is completely ordinary. Like all jellyfish, fertilization of eggs with sperm occurs on the surface of the sea, then the eggs turn into a larva. Then the planula is lowered to the bottom and a polyp is formed, from which a tiny jellyfish is separated, which lives forever. Photos of these creatures are presented below.
The appearance of the jellyfish Turritopsis nutricula is nothingremarkable, rather, it can be said that this is a miniature creation. It has an umbrella with a diameter of less than 5 mm, which is surrounded by thin tentacles. Newly-born jellyfish have only 8, whereas an adult individual has up to 100 pieces. It also has a cross-shaped red speck, formed in the middle of the umbrella by the jellyfish digestive organs. Newborn nutritic size of only 1 mm.
Amazing find
The end of the last century was marked by amazingdiscovery. It turns out that jellyfish live forever. The discovery was made by Italian Fernando Boero. Having decided to clean the aquarium forgotten in due time, the scientist discovered strange polyps. These unusual growths were similar to jellyfish, which previously lived in an aquarium, but without tentacles. The scientist decided to continue the experiment, although the rest of the creatures in the aquarium died. Filling it with sea water, Boero watched the polyps. After some time, they began to develop, and as a result, tiny nutritive jellyfish were born.
The seemingly impossible thing happened - nutrikulyturned the cycle of their own development. Until that time, it was known that all jellyfish have a final stage of development - the reproduction phase. In most intestinal cavities, and not only in them, the emergence of fertilized cells or eggs leads to the death of adults. And from them the young appear, in jellyfish the larvae turn into polyps, and from them small jellyfish are born. The discovery of Boero turned all knowledge of the jellyfish back. So, scientists have found a jellyfish that lives forever.
Life cycle
Representatives of this species, like other specieshydroid organisms, are 2 stages of development. The first begins with the development of larvae after fertilization of the eggs. Then the larvae trapped in free space settle to the ocean floor, where they turn into polyps. Thus, whole colonies of jellyfish appear, in appearance resembling a spindle or a mace. At this stage of development, polyps form a kind of skeleton, at the end of which there are tentacles with stinging cells characteristic of jellyfish. So, a whole colony is able to eat small creatures.
Вторая стадия начинается с отделения молодых jellyfish from polyps. Thus, small jellyfish begin to lead their usual way of life. Within a few months they reach puberty, and the whole process is repeated anew. How does it happen that jellyfish live forever? Interestingly, jellyfish have additional ways to preserve the species.
Features jellyfish
Saving life is associated with abilitieshydroid creatures to recovery processes. It has long been known that jellyfish can recover lost body parts in a short period of time. It has been experimentally proven that a jellyfish cut into pieces is capable of reproducing itself. This process of restoration is called transdifferentiation. In fact, from one type of cells another can develop, which means that theoretically all jellyfish live forever. However, many other creatures have these abilities. Lizards can calmly grow a new tail for themselves, and scientists are now able to grow separate organs from stem cells.
But the ability of the jellyfish nutritic to restoreYour whole body is truly unique. She is able to repeat the process an infinite number of times and at the same time remain forever young. It was these processes that gave scientists the assumption that jellyfish live forever.
Today, scientists are closely monitoringthis type of jellyfish, to study in more detail the process of rejuvenation. On our amazing planet there are still many unknown beings for man who have not yet revealed their secrets.
