Like 'Deadpool,' This Jellyfish Has Amazing Superpowers
The moon jellyfish can age backward, form hordes of clones, and regenerate lost body parts, a new study says.
A hole rips through his body, but seals up and heals completely. An appendage is sliced off; the tissues grow back perfectly. He is capable of extreme regeneration, perhaps even immortality.
Those are the astonishing powers of Deadpool, the wise-cracking superhero whose movie is now a box office wonder. (Also see "Spider-Man Ready: 5 Animals That Regrow Parts.")
Yet there's a one squishy marine invertebrate can do all that—and more, according to a recent study in the journal PLOS ONE.
Emblazoned with a four-leaf clover on its back and lined with a fringe of thin tentacles, the moon jellyfish, Aurelia, is a veritable pantheon of power.
It not only regenerates like Deadpool, it ages backward like Benjamin Button and forms hordes of clones like Jamie Madrox the Multiple Man.
Heroes need sidekicks, and the moon jelly’s is a