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Discovered in jellyfish, a secret that may help achieve immortality

On Monday, scientists at the Universidad de Oviedo in Spain published a new research in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). In a paper published Monday in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists examined the jellyfish genome in detail, looking for the genes that control this extraordinary process. It is an incredible biological feat. Each member of the species is an identical clone and begins life as a polyp that becomes a mature organism called jellyfish. If a jellyfish is injured, gets sick or ages, it turns back into a polyp and restarts the whole process, churning out more clones. Scientists call this "life cycle reversal." It is like a person from old turning back into a fetus, or like a chicken turning back into an egg.

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The discovery
On Monday, scientists at the Universidad de Oviedo in Spain published new research in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
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The secret is the jellyfish
They have a secret that sets them apart from the normal sea creature: when their bodies are damaged, the mature adults, known as jellyfish, can turn back in time and transform into their younger selves. They lose their limbs, become a drifting mass, and transform into polyps, twiggy outgrowths that attach themselves to rocks or plants.
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How do they
When there is no food and the jellyfish is starving, it reabsorbs its tentacles and stops at the bottom of the sea, where it once again becomes an octopus, from which, after a while, small jellies will be expelled and become jellyfish
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The research
Researchers have not yet discovered how this jellyfish manages to modify its cells so easily. The researchers hope to understand more about this dance of DNA unfolding. If the storage proteins were modified to remain active, would the jellyfish be able to start over again?
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Conclusion
This is a jaw-dropping discovery because it could pave the way, if not to human immortality, at least to the treatment of degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's or Alzheimer's.
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