Mediterranean Mortal
Aidan Halley | December 9, 2025
In the blue glow of the Mediterranean floats an almost clear blob of gloop. This jellyfish, known scientifically as Turritopsis dohrnii, is more commonly known as the Immortal Jellyfish. As it bobs up and down, it looks just like every other jellyfish you may have seen. But God created this special little guy with a remarkable power: He can turn back his life cycle.
After some brief research on trusty Google, I learned that a jellyfish goes through six main stages: The egg, planula, polyp, jelly stack (go ahead and reread that. I did in fact say jelly stack), ephyra release and medusa stages. When your run-of-themill jellyfish reaches the medusa stage, its life is almost over. When the Immortal Jellyfish reaches the medusa stage and experiences hardships, it starts turning its cells back into younger versions of itself. As the transformation continues, it eventually turns back into a polyp. It then grows back into its medusa stage. By reversing its life cycle, it can effectively live forever.
Sadly, the title of this article demands that we break this news to you: While it could theoretically live forever, it does not. Because they are so small (roughly 3 to 4.5 millimeters according to “Does the Immortal Jellyfish Actually Live Forever?” written by Ada Tseng), they are near the bottom of the food chain. While scientists believe that it could live forever in a perfect environment, it is highly prone to getting killed by predators.