(NLDO) - Scientists have discovered something that looks exactly like the Frankenstein monster in the novel, created from two pieces of a body that should have been dead.
According to Science Alert, researchers in the UK discovered a comb jellyfish of the species Mnemiopsis leidyi with two buttocks, strangely large in a colony of jellyfish they kept in captivity. Test results confirmed that it was a real-life version of Frankenstein's monster.
One of the "Frankenstein" jellyfish that scientists have identified - Photo: UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
Frankenstein is a character in the horror novel of the same name by writer Mary Shelley, published in 1818.
In the fictional story, mad scientist Viktor Frankenstein creates the monster named after his family name by piecing together seven body parts stolen from a graveyard, then using lightning to bring it to life.
The "Frankenstein Monster" that researchers from the University of Exeter (UK) found is a bit simpler, made from just two body pieces of two very injured jellyfish.
Surprisingly, they are not only stuck together like conjoined twins, but have also merged their nervous systems and most of their digestive systems, allowing all the muscles in their bodies to function in sync as a single individual.
The process was inspired by an experiment by the authors to identify evidence that comb jellyfish tissue appears to be able to grow on each other to heal wounds.
Comb jellies are famous for their ability to regenerate their bodies if they survive severe, disabling injuries.
They wounded several jellyfish, cut a slice along the side lobe of each, and kept them individually in pairs overnight.
The next day, they found that nine out of ten pairs had fused seamlessly into a single body.
Still, the fact that they integrate both their nervous and digestive systems into a single body is surprising.
Researchers have yet to confirm whether comb jellies in the wild can do the same.
According to Dr Kei Jokura, lead author of the study, the ability of individual jellyfish to fuse completely together suggests that they lack the mechanism that most other animals possess to recognize what belongs to them and what does not.
It is a necessary mechanism for the survival of "advanced" creatures like us, but it causes problems when donating blood and organs, for example the need to comply with blood type rules when donating and receiving, suitable conditions when donating and receiving organs, transplant rejection...
Dr Jokura suggests that the jellyfish may lack the genes needed to recognize foreign material being grafted onto its body, given its place on the evolutionary tree.
Therefore, the discovery of these special genes and the study of the ability to integrate and regenerate the nervous system of Mnemiopsis leidyi promise to bring many values to the fields of evolutionary biology and medicine.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/tim-ra-quai-vat-frankenstein-tu-rap-2-manh-than-lai-de-song-tiep-196241009111916825.htm
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