Bizarre Facts

Most living creatures follow a linear path: birth, aging, and death. The **Turritopsis dohrnii** jellyfish, however, has found a loophole. When faced with physical damage, starvation, or stress, this tiny creature can trigger a process called **transdifferentiation**.

It reabsorbs its tentacles and settles on the sea floor, reverting its mature cells back into their earliest, stem-cell-like state (a polyp). It essentially turns from an adult back into a baby, allowing it to grow up all over again. Theoretically, this process can be repeated indefinitely, making the jellyfish **biologically immortal**. While they can still be eaten by predators or killed by disease, they do not die of old age—a superpower that scientists are studying to understand cellular aging in humans.