So there I was, surfing around National Geographic’s news when I saw the title,  “‘Immortal’ Jellyfish  Swarm World’s Oceans.”

Yes, this jellyfish, formally known as the Turritopsis dohrnii, has the ability to transform from being an adult to being a baby over and over again. This jellyfish was discovered in the Mediterranean Sea in 1883, but it seems to be “taking” over the world’s oceans–swarm by swarm.

This jellyfish is only about the size of a human pinky nail. Usually these jellyfish reproduce like most animals do–they meet free-floating sperm and eggs– and they also die. However, when emergency situations such as starvation occur, well, you know how the saying goes, “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” In other words, when the jellyfish encounter a crisis, they transform all of the existing cells into a younger state.

It can turn itself into a “bloblike cyst, which then develops into a polyp colony,” as National Geographic states. This polyp colony could lead to an almost completely transformed creature where even muscle cells can become nerve cells, sperms, or eggs. Of course, this polyp colony can then produce genetically identical jellyfish via methods of asexual reproduction. These copies can be found all over the world. Imagine researchers’ surprise when they found that there were jellyfish in one part of the world that had identical genes to a jellyfish in the other part of the world!

To explain this spread, some scientists believe that the jellyfish are “hitching rides” and travelling in long-distance cargo ships’ ballast water. Ballast water is the water that is sucked into and pumped out of the ships in order to stabilize the ship.

Some scientists believe that they could use these methods that the jellyfish use to create anti-aging drugs for humans, but that is only a thought and many would say that would not be feasible. However, they could help in fighting cancer!

Perhaps these immortal jellyfish will aid in a solution that betters mankind. In the meanwhile, let’s hope they don’t take over the oceans!