Bionic Penguin of the Week #2
May 19, 2009
One of the most highly desirable traits in a BP is durability. One recently discovered critter has so many hit points it just might be immortal.
I don't think you're ready, for this jelly.
Turritopsis nutricula is this week’s BP of the W because it succeeds easily at something that so many pitiful humans fail at miserably. Many of us try to reclaim our youth through nostalgic memoribilia, plastic surgery, or by hitting on high school cheerleaders. Nutricula takes a much more direct path to its goal; it reverses its life cycle through transdifferentiation.
Transdifferentiation is the process of a developed cell transforming into a different kind of cell. No, it’s not like Michael J’s vitiligo; it goes deeper, down to the cell’s function and purpose. An example of transdifferentiation would be if an eye’s iris cells transform into lens cells to replace the eye’s missing lens.
After mating as a sexually mature jellyfish, nutricula returns to an adolescent polyp state. It appears as though the nutricula can repeat this process indefinitely, evading death and becoming immortal. Talk about a testament to sexual healing.
However, because none of the jellies are dying off, there has been an underwater population explosion. That’s right, an immortal, infinite army of jellyfish soldiers are massing under your local tide pool.
The can only be one... billion.
Time to freak out! Unless, we can figure out how to do it ourselves. Of course, our bodies are much more complex than a jelly’s, but it’s nice to dream.
