I, for one, welcome our new gelatinous overlords...

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I, for one, welcome our new gelatinous overlords...

Postby Eaquae Legit » Fri Jun 18, 2010 12:43 am

The planet's only immortal animal is spreading fast
A species of jellyfish has evolved the potential for immortality - and they're starting to spread.

The species turritopsis nutricula is able to transform itself from its mature state back into a polyp (immature jellyfish) and then back again - picture a gelatinous 'Benjamin Button' on repeat.

The species, which is only 4-5 mm in diameter, performs this miraculous feat using a process known as transdifferentiation, in which one type of cell transforms into another. While this sounds a lot like what happens in stem cells, the process is distinct.
I first read about these on cracked. How will we stem the tide? Will they evolve on land? Inquiring minds (and B-movie horror directors) want to know!
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Postby Psudo » Fri Jun 18, 2010 3:51 am

We must use global warming to destroy them! It's our only hope! =]

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Postby jotabe » Fri Jun 18, 2010 4:30 am

I know you intend it as a joke, but it's quite the opposite, actually. :wink:

Global Warming heats up the ocean waters. Increasing their temperature, you reduce the oxygen solubility in water (anoxia), and this increases the death rate of plancton and large fish, which further increases anoxia, due to their decomposition. This causes a boom in the population of species that succeed in anoxic environments rich in nutrients, such as bacteria and jellyfish.
This is called eutrophication.

(Of course, the warming of the waters due to global warming is too small to actually cause any degree of eutrophication; it usually happens due to straight pollution of closeted waters which starts the runaway process of anoxia.)
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Postby neo-dragon » Fri Jun 18, 2010 5:27 am

I volunteer to have the genes required for transdifferentiation spliced into my DNA. And of course, the effects must be taken to a sci-fi extreme thus allowing me to stay young for ever, instantly heal any wound, and let's throw in shape-shifting powers for good measure since I think it's entirely reasonable that the ability to change my cells at will would allow for that.
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Postby Psudo » Fri Jun 18, 2010 8:41 am

But I thought global warming just killed everything indiscriminately, and the only way to stop it was to burn cash instead of fossil fuels. =]

neo-dragon: The description of a jellyfish repeatedly returning to it's childhood stage and aging all over again sounds quite a bit like Magneto's reoccurring youth. You're halfway there. Incidentally, have you seen the new movie Splice?

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Postby jotabe » Fri Jun 18, 2010 10:14 am

The way i've been explained how the jellyfish dna came to be, it seems like a very simple change in the genome could cause this: apparently, jellyfishes and polyps were different beings. Apparently, in a freak process of hybridation, sexual cells produced from both beings mixed fused, and instead of a non-viable embryo being formed, the DNA of each species remained in the embryos, stored sequentially. So, along the life of this new being, it would start as an asexual polyp*, and then eventually change to jellyfish to start the sexual stage. Depending on how complex the mechanism to switch from one stage to other is, the trigger to switch back could be simple to activate.

*Polyps can reproduce asexually by budding, producing several genetically identical medusae. Then, only the medusae can reproduce sexually, creating polyp embryos with DNA different from the parents'.
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Postby neo-dragon » Fri Jun 18, 2010 2:14 pm


neo-dragon: The description of a jellyfish repeatedly returning to it's childhood stage and aging all over again sounds quite a bit like Magneto's reoccurring youth. You're halfway there. Incidentally, have you seen the new movie Splice?
I have not, but I might be interested if it's more sci-fi than horror.
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Postby Eaquae Legit » Fri Jun 18, 2010 2:17 pm

Jota, what exactly IS your field? :lol:
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Postby jotabe » Fri Jun 18, 2010 2:41 pm

I would like to consider myself a philosopher, ethymologically speaking. 8) StS probably has a different view, though ;) i'd say it starts with pretentious :lol:
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Postby Psudo » Fri Jun 18, 2010 8:37 pm

have you seen the new movie Splice?
I have not, but I might be interested if it's more sci-fi than horror.
I was going to ask you if it was.


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