An immortal jellyfish: even stronger than the Tardigrade?

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Christophe
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by Christophe » 26/07/13, 22:22

In the same genre: http://www.huffingtonpost.fr/2013/02/21 ... 32063.html

A zombie cell developed by American researchers

SCIENCE - This is information that should delight fans of the Z series. Scientists have managed to create for the very first time a zombie cell.

Clearly, it is a dead cell, but still in operation. A world first, the results of which have even exceeded the expectations of researchers since the dead cell has proven to be more efficient than during its lifetime. Enough to open the door to all apocalyptic extrapolations.

To carry out their business, scientists from the National Laboratory of Sandia and the University of New Mexico used an original technique. This consisted in coating mammalian cells with a solution of silica (the main component of the earth's crust) to form a kind of permeable shielding around the membrane of the living cell, and thus allow researchers to confront the cell at temperatures and pressures unimaginable for a living cell.

A wide range of potential applications

Thus heated, to almost 400 ° C, the organic matter of the cell evaporates and leaves in silica a three-dimensional replica of the mineralized structures and complex functionalities of the living organism as it was with almost atomic precision, all preserving the spiral of cellular DNA.

Surprisingly, the dead cell remains capable of performing some of its former functions. And in some cases, it would even be superior to its biological ancestor thanks to the properties of silica which allow it to resist temperatures and pressures that it could never have endured during its lifetime.

"Our zombie cells bridge chemistry and biology by creating cells that not only look like two drops of water to themselves but are also able to work tirelessly," said Bryan Kaehr, the one of the scientists who conducted the study.

If we are still far from seeing hordes of zombies in our cities, scientists could in the future use these silica structures to improve the performance of certain products in the environmental and decontamination sectors.

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Christophe
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Re: An immortal jellyfish: even stronger than the Tardigrade?




by Christophe » 01/10/20, 15:33

Another jellyfish that can advance research and science.

Israeli researchers made an incredible discovery a few months ago: Henneguya salminicola, a parasite of the jellyfish family, can live without breathing oxygen! It remains to be seen where it gets its energy from ...


https://www.science-et-vie.com/nature-e ... irer-55139



ps: it seems to me that some organisms living around underwater volcanoes, with very sulfur, acidic water ... also need very very little O2 but I may be confusing ...
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Christophe
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Re: An immortal jellyfish: even stronger than the Tardigrade?




by Christophe » 20/11/22, 11:19

Many jellyfish are able to return to an earlier stage in their cycle, the polyp. But only one knows how to do it as an adult. Did she achieve immortality?

https://www.pourlascience.fr/sr/chroniq ... -24458.php
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Re: An immortal jellyfish: even stronger than the Tardigrade?




by Christophe » 20/11/22, 11:24

Sea anemones too now!

Researchers have elucidated the mystery of the anemone's eternal youth, by discovering highly conserved genes that guarantee neuronal differentiation throughout the animal's life.

https://trustmyscience.com/decouverte-g ... -anemones/

For several years now, we have known that behind the apparent simplicity of the sea anemone (Nematostella vectensis) there is actually a fascinating complexity hidden. Apparently immortal, she would have developed the secret of eternal youth during her millions of years of evolution, by becoming immune to aging. However, the biological mechanisms governing this incredible ability remain partially misunderstood. A new study published in the journal Cell Reports may have deciphered the phenomenon, by discovering highly conserved genes that guarantee neuronal differentiation throughout the life of the animal.

Over millions of years of evolution, most living organisms on Earth have evolved from single-celled to complex multi-celled organisms with billions of cells. In animals, these cells have grouped and differentiated into different categories, in order to form functional tissues in different organs. And although Nematostella vectensis is only a small cylinder-shaped marine invertebrate with tentacles, its genome is almost as complex as that of humans, both in number of genes (around 20) and organization.

This similarity in complexity makes this species of anemone a particularly interesting model for genomic research. N. vectensis, belonging to the cnidarian branch, would indeed have distinguished itself from the bilaterians more than 600 million years ago. This evolutionary biology gave it an astonishingly complex nervous system, with no less than thirty distinct types of neurons.

How the different cell types maintain an optimal and coordinated balance to ensure all the functions of an entire organism is still largely misunderstood. "The anemone can therefore also help us understand the origin and evolution of the multiple cell types that make up the bodies and organs of animals, and in particular their nervous system", explained in 2018 Heather Marlow for Radio-Canada, researcher at the Pasteur Institute.

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