rejuvenations of the Jellyfishベニクラゲ

As we get older, we sometimes think, “I wish I could start my life over again.” This is impossible for humans, but there are some creatures that can do it. It is Jellyfish species Turritopsis spp . It is Turritopsis spp that belongs to a different group from jellyfish , and it belongs to a group called hydrozoa.

A characteristic feature of older Turritopsis spp is that they begin to rejuvenate. Turritopsis spp , which reaches sexual maturity and reaches the limit of its body aging, has an unusual ecology in which it reverts to a “polyp”, which is a juvenile Turritopsis spp .

In other words, even if the jellyfish gets old, it is possible to grow back into a child (polyp) again.

年を取ると「人生やり直しができたら」と考える事があります。人間では無理ですが、それができる生物がいます。紅クラゲです。赤クラゲや水クラゲとは別のグループに属するクラゲでヒドロ虫と言うグループに属します。

歳をとった紅クラゲの個体は、若返り始めるという特徴があります。性的に熟し、体の老化が限界を迎えたベニクラゲは、紅クラゲの幼体である「ポリプ」に戻るという変わった生態です。

つまりベニクラゲは老いても、もう一度子供(ポリプ)に戻り成長することが可能です。

Older adults of jellyfish usually die and melt away, but the jellyfish do not melt.They become ball of tissue and can extend their roots again and rejuvenate into polyps (the basic form of cnidarians).

クラゲは通常、年老いた成体は死を迎えて溶けてしまいますが、ベニクラゲは溶けずに団子状になり、再び走根を延ばしポリプ（刺胞動物の基本形）へと若返ることができます

the jellyfish gets old, it is possible to grow back into a child (polyp) again.

These polyps form jellyfish buds that eventually separate and swim away as young jellyfish.Because this series of cycles is repeated endlessly, it is said to be “immortal’‘.

このポリプがクラゲ芽を形成し、やがて若いクラゲとして分離して泳ぎ出します。この一連のサイクルを無限に繰り返すことから「不老不死」と言われます。

The rejuvenation phenomenon of jellyfish was first confirmed in 1992 by Italian researchers in Mediterranean jellyfish.Since then, Associate Professor Kubota and his colleagues have succeeded in making the world’s second Japanese product.We continue to update the number of times.In the case of the jellyfish, rather than being immortal, it goes through a stage where it returns to its larval form and “changes its shape (rejuvenates).”

ベニクラゲの若返り現象は、１９９２年にイタリアの研究者が地中海産で初確認しました。その後、久保田准教授らが日本産で世界第２例目として成功して以来、その回数を更新し続けています。ベニクラゲの場合は、不老不死と言うより、再び幼生に戻り「形が変わる（若返る）」という段階を踏みます。