Living things / DAY 08 OF 40
This jellyfish has a reset button.
An adult can return to an earlier life stage. Biology gets a do-over.
Here's the strange part.
Most animals do not get to hit “back” on adulthood. Turritopsis dohrnii can: under stress, this little jellyfish can return from its adult medusa stage to an earlier polyp stage. That is a spectacular biological reversal, not a guarantee of eternal life. A predator does not have to respect the reset button. (Natural History Museum, London)
KEEP IT HONEST
Reversing a life stage is not invulnerability. Predators, disease and other hazards can still kill these jellyfish.
REALITY CHECK · TRUE OR FALSE?
Reset button or superhero origin story?
Life-stage reversal makes this jellyfish impossible to kill.
Go straight to the receipts.
Curious about the methods, dates or details? Open the original source and keep the caveat in view.
ORIGINAL SOURCENatural History Museum, LondonOpen publication ↗NEXT IN THE 40-DAY TRAIL / DAY 09Your space suit needs growing room. ↗