In the scientific community, the tiny jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii is often referred to as “immortal”. This was confirmed by studies conducted by employees of the University of Oviedo (Spain), which found that they had two more genes that explored restoration and protection than its close relatives, the jellyfish Turritopsis rubra.
In the lifespan of all living organisms, their ability to recruit DNA and telomeres is of particular importance – sections of chromosomes that prevent attachment to other chromosomes, which, in fact, is the primary protective mass.
For example, when a jellyfish feels hungry, it starts to eat its own tentacles and sinks to the seabed, where it … turns into its previous state – a polyp. Subsequent food processes, after some time, again turn the polyp into a jellyfish.
Turritopsis dohrnii telomeres protect against jellyfish chromosome chains during their reproduction. As a rule, while in other living organisms, telomeres are shortened and consumed over time, in the “immortal jellyfish” everything happens differently.
It still remains a mystery how they edit their cells and whether the “updated” individuals are a direct and hereditary “original”.
Interesting scientific studies of the properties of Turritopsis dohrnii are not accidental: the study of a similar process of development of brain cells in the future may help the doctor successfully cope with the expense and senile consumption – Alzheimer’s antibiotics and Parkinson.
Source: Tech Cult
