can live forever? Well believe it because swimming around in the ocean right now is

the ‘immortal jellyfish.’

Turritopsis dohrnii is a small jellyfish that can theoretically live forever through a process

called transdifferentiation. And no this is not wizardry or some sci-fi fantasy. It’s

a process that actually renews the jellies life, kind of like living forever young.

You see, jellyfish start their lives as tiny larvae called planula floating around the

ocean. Eventually that those planula grow up and settle down as little polyps that are

attached to the sea-floor. Those polyps continue to grow tentacles and eventually break off

as free roaming, swimming jellyfish.

If turritopsis dohrnii is ever hurt, sick or growing too old, it is able to revert back

to it's polyp stage and grow again as the same, but brand spanking new jellyfish, it’s

like a benjamin button that never dies. Theoretically, this process can go on indefinitely, effectively

making this jellyfish biologically immortal. So as long as they don’t get swallowed up

whole by some hungry fish, they’ll be ringing in the year 3015.

Tore-I-topsis Dhorn-hi

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