எனக்கு தெரியும்! என்றாவது ஒரு நாள் நீ இங்கு வருவாய் என..
Jellyfish usually die after propagating but Turritopsis reverts to a sexually immature stage after reaching adulthood and is capable of rejuvenating itself.Marine biologists say the jellyfish numbers are rocketing because they need not die.
The 4-5mm diameter creature, technically known as a hydrozoan, is the only known animal that is capable of reverting to its juvenile polyp state.
Theoretically, this cycle can repeat indefinitely, rendering it potentially immortal.
The jellyfish are originally from the Caribbean but have spread all over the world. Found in warm tropical waters Turritopsis is believed to be spreading across the world as ships’ ballast water is discharged in ports.
Though solitary, they are predatory creatures and mature asexually from a polyp stage.
The jellyfish and its reversal of the ageing process is now the focus of research by marine biologists and geneticists. It is thought to achieve the feat through the cell development process of transdifferentiation, in which cells transform from one type to another.
The switching of cell roles is usually seen only when parts of an organ regenerate. However, it appears to occur normally in the Turritopsis life cycle.
Wiki : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turritopsis_nutricula
Thanks:
- timesonline.co.uk
- emilydamstra.com
- telegraph.co.uk
- paleobio.org
- zmescience.com
New "Rainbow Glow" Jellyfish Found
Jellyfish expert Lisa Gershwin caught the unnamed species in early March while swimming near a jetty off the Australian island of Tasmania with a "phototank"—a small aquarium that makes it easy to photograph sea life.
The jellyfish does not emit its own light, as bioluminescent creatures do. (Related: "Monster Glowing Squid Caught on Camera.")
Rather, its rainbow glow emanates from light reflecting off the creature's cilia, small hairlike projections that beat simultaneously to move the jellyfish through the water.
(See a blue jellyfish swarm photo taken in Australia.)
Though the glowing jelly is Gershwin's 159th species discovery in Australia, she still finds the discovery "simply splendid."
For one, the jelly is relatively large—5 inches (13 centimeters) long.
The new species also belongs to Ctenophora, a "strange and poorly known" group of animals, said Gershwin, curator of natural science at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Tasmania.
The invertebrate is also incredibly fragile—it shatters as soon as it touches a net, she said.
"So it begs the question," Gershwin said by email, "of how many fragile species are out there, right under our noses, that we have overlooked. … "
—Christine Dell'Amore
Thanks: National Geographic News
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/03/090317-new-rainbow-jellyfish-picture.html?source=email_wn_20090320&email=wn