The thimble-shaped jellyfish, Turritopsis dohrnii, has demonstrated an extraordinary ability to cheat death by reverting to a juvenile form. Marine biologist Maria Pia Miglietta, an associate professor at A&M University, explains that when faced with adverse conditions such as high temperatures, physical damage, starvation, or chemicals, the jellyfish does not die.
Most jellyfish follow a life cycle from larvae to polyps, which then bud off swimming medusas that mature and eventually die after reproduction. However, Turritopsis dohrnii can escape this fate by shrinking into a ball and, within 24 to 48 hours, budding off a new polyp with an identical genome, effectively restarting its life.
This process is known as “cellular transdifferentiation.” While these jellyfish can theoretically live forever in laboratory settings, their existence in the wild can still be ended by predators. There are eight accepted species of Turritopsis globally, but only one is currently known to possess this key to eternal life.