Moon Jellyfish

Instead of regenerating new limbs, moon jellyfish simply rearranges its limbs when injured.

18:11 19 June 2015

 

Researchers from the California Institute of Technology have been studying the moon jellyfish, which is found to rearrange its limbs when injured, as opposed to regenerating new limbs. This feature could provide the blueprint for self-healing robots in the future. 

 

The researchers simulated the injury by amputating the limbs of anaesthetised jellyfish to produce animals with two, three, four, five, six, or even seven arms rather than the usual eight. The researchers then observed the jellyfish as they were returned to artificial seawater. 

 

Assistant professor of biology Lea Goentoro said: "This is a different strategy of self-repair. Some animals just heal their wounds, other animals regenerate what is lost, but the moon jelly ephyrae (juveniles) don't regenerate their lost limbs.

"They heal the wound, but then they reorganise to regain symmetry."

 

She said the discovery could provide the blueprint to create self-healing robots in future.

 

"Symmetrisation may provide a new avenue for thinking about biomaterials that could be designed to 'heal' by regaining functional geometry rather than regenerating precise shapes," she added.

 

"Other self-repair mechanisms require cell proliferation and cell death - biological processes that aren't easily translated to technology. But we can more easily apply mechanical forces to a material."