Posted on 09/24/2017 7:20:50 PM PDT by JoeProBono
Scientists, including one of Indian origin, have found that jellyfish go into a sleep-like state, making them the first animals without a brain or central nervous system to do so.
The findings push the origin of sleep further down the evolutionary tree of life - to before the emergence of a centralised nervous system.
"It is the first example of sleep in animals without a brain," said Howard Hughes, from California Institute of Technology in the US.
Researchers studied Cassiopea, a mostly stationary jellyfish native to mudflats, mangrove swamps, and other warm, shallow waters. The jellfish were kept in tanks with artificial seawater in labs.
Cassiopea do not look like typical jellyfish - they are silver dollar-sized, splotched with black pigment, and rest upside-down on the sea floor, researchers said.
With tentacles curled above bell-shaped bodies, the jellies resemble miniature heads of cauliflower. However, they pulse like other jellyfish, contracting and relaxing in a steady rhythm, and researchers wondered if the behaviour was continuous.
"We went in at night and videotaped them with an iPhone," said Ravi Nath, graduate student at Caltech.
After recording the jellies, the team got their first clue that Cassiopea might be sleeping: They pulsed less frequently at night.
Researchers then created an image processing programme to count the pulses of 23 jellies over six consecutive days and nights.
They observed, as earlier, that pulsing activity ebbed at night but a little food dropped in the tanks could quickly wake the jellies up again. Researchers noted a second sign of sleep after dropping the floor out from dozing jellies. The team placed Cassiopea inside a pipe with a mesh bottom and then dipped the pipe into the tank - so submerged jellies rested on the mesh instead of the tank floor.
Then they lowered the pipe deeper into the tank, forcing the jellies to lift off the mesh and float in open water.
During the day, Cassiopea will quickly pulse their bells and swim down to rest on the mesh again. However, at night, it takes them about three times longer to start pulsing.
It is like the jellyfish are a little groggy. This delayed response to stimulation is typical for sleeping animals, researchers said.
The study was published in the journal Current Biology
Everything in NK looks drab and lifeless. What a creepy place.
btw, is that a liquor store?
On hand, always the note takers, must write everything down that dear leader says. They haven’t discovered audio recorders yet.
I came to this thread knowing a FReeper would post that pic.
Thank you for not disappointing. =)
those look like whiskey bottles in the background.
They are not active at night to conserve energy when food sources are less. Plants do this and they do not have a central nervous system.
This study is crap science. I hope it did not have a government grant.
As well as swimming with them some days during our beach vacation.
Fun fact: If you stomp on a freshly washed up jellyfish at night with your sneaker, it will glow blue.
No doubt Rocket Man's inspection party was issued lab coats for the photo op.
Rocket Man's coat is completely unbuttoned. And he is sitting down totally relaxed in the visual center of the photo. It is clear he is Number One.
My guess is the dude on the right is the highest ranking after Rocket Man, his coat being loose. Until Rocket Man decides to eliminate him with a howitzer.
When they wake up and turn over, wouldn't that be called a jelly roll?
The source of the article is a Indian newspaper. A local man does well story. Making India great again !
My wife refused to go because she has a mental thing. When we arrived the summer before it was closed because of strong winds. It's cool. They take you down, give you a lecture and a 3D movie (with 3D glasses) to watch on a screen. Lecture was educational but also the guy was funny.
Today is my wife's BirthDay. Going shopping now and then picking our daughter up from school to go eat. :)
You are probably correct on all counts.
Where is that? How deep does that one take you?
A few years ago I had some doctoring done by a couple Indian fellows. They may have been good doctors but I couldn't understand a word they said. I think one said I was gonna die and the other said I wasn't. If that's the case I'm pretty sure #2 was correct.
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