The medusoid. Photo credit: Caltech/Harvard University.
The background
Scientists have created an artificial jellyfish using rat hearts and silicone. The “medusoid”, as researchers from Caltech and Harvard University have called it, is capable of swimming through water, just like a living jellyfish. Now there’s a thought for when you next go for dip in the sea.
But how?
“The team members built the replica using silicone as a base on which to grow heart muscle cells that were harvested from rats,” explained the BBC. “They used an electric current to shock the Medusoid into swimming with synchronised contractions that mimic those of real jellyfish.”
“Morphologically, we’ve built a jellyfish. Functionally, we’ve built a jellyfish. Genetically, this thing is a rat,” project leader Kit Parker told Nature.
But why?
According to The Guardian, researchers consider the replica jellyfish “a stepping stone towards a much grander aim: the construction of hearts to replace those damaged by disease.” And The Christian Science Monitor reported that its future use could extend beyond the medical: “The researchers say over the long term, their work could help lead to roving, autonomous sentinels that can measure pollution plumes in the ocean and perhaps even clean up the mess.”
What’s next?
Researchers hope to find a way for the jellyfish to move on its own, without the need for electric current, said Time. They also want to give it the ability to gather its own food. “But there are no plans now — or ever — to give the thing a brain. Its cousins in the wild already had their chance at that.”
See footage of the free-swimming artificial jellyfish below.
