Can a Jellyfish Turn Back Its Clock?
In short: Turritopsis dohrnii can turn a starved, damaged or ageing medusa back into a polyp through transdifferentiation, but this life-cycle restart is no shield against predators, so individuals still die.
A 1:26 short film in the series “Nature: How Long Can It Live?”, narrated by intellect_voice_01.
Sources used in this film: Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Immortal jellyfish | Life Cycle, Habitat, Size, & Facts | Britannica”; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (Miglietta & Lessios 2009, Biological Invasions, Springer), “10530_2008_9296_11_4-web 825..834”; G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics (Genetics Society of America), hosted on PubMed Central by the U.S. National Library of Medicine; article by Matsumoto, Piraino & Miglietta (Texas A&M University at Galvest…, “Transcriptome Characterization of Reverse Development in Turritopsis dohrnii (Hydrozoa, Cnidaria)”; Natural History Museum, London, “Immortal jellyfish: The secret to cheating death | Natural History Museum”; Biochemistry and Biophysics Reports (Elsevier B.V.), authors from Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine; hosted on PubMed Central (US National Library of Medicine), “Exploring an immortal Turritopsis sp. as a less conventional natural system for study of aging”; Genome Biology and Evolution (Oxford University Press for the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution), via PubMed Central (US National Library of Medicine), “Cellular Reprogramming and Immortality: Expression Profiling Reveals Putative Genes Involved in Turritopsis dohrnii’s Life Cycle Reversal”; Knight Science Journalism @MIT (blog post by Paul Raeburn, November 28th 2012, critiquing a New York Times Magazine article), “First we get proof of heaven; now the secret of immortality. - Knight Science Journalism @MIT”.
Sources used in this film
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — Immortal jellyfish | Life Cycle, Habitat, Size, & Facts | Britannica · View →
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (Miglietta & Lessios 2009, Biological Invasions, Springer) — 10530_2008_9296_11_4-web 825..834 · View →
- G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics (Genetics Society of America), hosted on PubMed Central by the U.S. National Library of Medicine; article by Matsumoto, Piraino & Miglietta (Texas A&M University at Galvest… — Transcriptome Characterization of Reverse Development in Turritopsis dohrnii (Hydrozoa, Cnidaria) · View →
- Natural History Museum, London — Immortal jellyfish: The secret to cheating death | Natural History Museum · View →
- Biochemistry and Biophysics Reports (Elsevier B.V.), authors from Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine; hosted on PubMed Central (US National Library of Medicine) — Exploring an immortal Turritopsis sp. as a less conventional natural system for study of aging · View →
- Genome Biology and Evolution (Oxford University Press for the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution), via PubMed Central (US National Library of Medicine) — Cellular Reprogramming and Immortality: Expression Profiling Reveals Putative Genes Involved in Turritopsis dohrnii’s Life Cycle Reversal · View →
- Knight Science Journalism @MIT (blog post by Paul Raeburn, November 28th 2012, critiquing a New York Times Magazine article) — First we get proof of heaven; now the secret of immortality. - Knight Science Journalism @MIT · View →
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Encyclopaedia Britannica: Immortal jellyfish | Life Cycle, Habitat, Size, & Facts | Britannica
- Also: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (Miglietta & Lessios 2009, Biological Invasions, Springer): 10530_2008_9296_11_4-web 825..834
- Also: G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics (Genetics Society of America), hosted on PubMed Central by the U.S. National Library of Medic: Transcriptome Characterization of Reverse Development in Turritopsis dohrnii (Hydrozoa, Cnidaria)
- Also: Natural History Museum, London: Immortal jellyfish: The secret to cheating death | Natural History Museum
- Also: Biochemistry and Biophysics Reports (Elsevier B.V.), authors from Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine; hosted o: Exploring an immortal Turritopsis sp. as a less conventional natural system for study of aging
- Also: Genome Biology and Evolution (Oxford University Press for the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution), via PubMed C: Cellular Reprogramming and Immortality: Expression Profiling Reveals Putative Genes Involved in Turritopsis dohrnii’s Life Cycle Reversal
- Also: Knight Science Journalism @MIT (blog post by Paul Raeburn, November 28th 2012, critiquing a New York Times Magazine arti: First we get proof of heaven; now the secret of immortality. - Knight Science Journalism @MIT
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