Jellyfish Surprise: The Amazing Self-Healing Powers Uncovered

A groundbreaking study was published over the weekend revealing an extraordinary discovery: Researchers from Caltech University in Pasadena, California, found that jellyfish with some of their arms amputated can reorganize their bodies to return to optimal function.

The discovery dates back to the spring of 2013. Michael Abrams, a biologist at the university, severed two arms from a young jellyfish. Soon after, the room was abuzz with his excited exclamations: 'You need to see this, come quick!'

The research team initially assumed the jellyfish was growing replacement arms—something other marine creatures do after losing limbs. However, the jellyfish in Abrams' experiment did something entirely different: it rearranged its remaining six arms to be evenly spaced around its body. To anyone unaware that this jellyfish should have eight arms, there was no indication it had experienced any trauma.

A jellyfish split in two: both the top and bottom parts reorganized themselves symmetrically

The purpose of the jellyfish's reorganization was clear to the researchers: a symmetrical body is essential for the jellyfish to move efficiently. How it accomplished this was an entirely different question. The scientists identified a previously unknown phenomenon, which they called 'symmetrization'. Since jellyfish often sustain damage, symmetrization is an efficient method for them to recover.

After observing the first jellyfish reorganize itself, Abrams replicated the experiment with additional jellyfish, all of which repaired themselves in the same way, within 12 hours to 4 days. The next step was to determine how the symmetrization process occurred. After several unsuccessful attempts, the team decided to explore the involvement of jellyfish muscles in the process. The jellyfish in the experiment were given a muscle relaxant—and were unable to repair themselves. On the other hand, stimulating the muscles accelerated the process. The conclusion: the jellyfish can return to symmetry when its muscles push against each other to move the remaining arms to their new positions. In this way, the jellyfish may lack arms, but it functions normally.

The researchers hope that the newly discovered phenomenon of 'symmetrization', as observed in jellyfish, may aid scientists in regenerative medicine: perhaps there are certain parts of the human body, they suggest, where functionality can be restored without finding a replacement.