The Jellyfish That Turns Back Time
A tiny jellyfish in the Mediterranean can escape death by turning back into a baby, again and again.
What was reported
In 1988, a German marine biology student, Christian Sommer, collecting small sea creatures off Rapallo on the Italian Riviera, noticed something strange about a tiny jellyfish less than a centimetre across. Instead of dying, the adult jellyfish seemed to shrink and transform back into a polyp, the early stage of its life.
Scientists confirmed that Turritopsis dohrnii, when injured, starved or old, can turn back into a young polyp and grow up all over again. In theory, it could repeat this forever.
Explanations offered
It's a real biological process, in which the jellyfish's cells change into other types of cells, something few animals can do. In practice, most of them are eaten or die of disease. Researchers are studying it for clues about ageing and cell renewal.
- When
- Discovered in 1988
- Where
- Rapallo, Liguria, Italy
- Witnesses
- A marine biology student, then scientists
- Status
- Confirmed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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