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Since it is capable of cycling from a mature adult stage to an immature
polyp stage and back again, there may be no natural limit to its life span.
Scientists say the hydrozoan jellyfish is the only known animal that can
repeatedly turn back the hands of time and revert to its polyp state (its
first stage of life).
The key lies in a process called transdifferentiation, where one type of
cell is transformed into another type of cell. Some animals can undergo
limited transdifferentiation and regenerate organs, such as salamanders,
which can regrow limbs. Turritopsi nutricula, on the other hand, can
regenerate its entire body over and over again. Researchers are studying the
jellyfish to discover how it is able to reverse its aging process.
Because they are able to bypass death, the number of individuals is spiking.
They're now found in oceans around the globe rather than just in their
native Caribbean waters. "We are looking at a worldwide silent invasion,"
says Dr. Maria Miglietta of the Smithsonian Tropical Marine Institute.
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