This is a press release from a marine research organization, so the main implication here isn't that they're doing it because it's in any way relevant to humans. They're doing it because it's a cool thing for a marine research organization to research.
Yes, it's probably not gonna help humans, unless some of your friends are gelatinous blobs with no circulatory or nervous system and with a lifespan measured in months.
I mean, all in all, most life forms are reproductive unit in some stage, or part of i, from the species point of view. Though some individual prove sterile.
Agreed. I always hated the 'two part', 'payoff'-based drama of titles like these, even before the LLM era. If it was lazy before (it was), it now comes off as 'one-click' lazy. Sadly, The Guardian has become infested with this style lately.
They're not even technically one organism, but colonies of independent but mostly specialized organisms. I'd be willing to bet that has something to do with the articles title
True jellyfish (like moon jellies, box jellyfish)are a single organism, just like you or me. Theres a single genome and one body.
Portuguese man o’ war is not a single organism at all but a siphonophore, a colony of many genetically identical but specialized individual organisms called zooids, all fused together and functionally dependent on each other.
Whats the difference between a siphonophore and a single organism? Aren't all the organs of an organism genetically identical, specialized, fused together, and functionally dependent on each other?
It's a very fuzzy line. But according to The Octopus Lady's video in the other comment, it's because separating them from the other zooids doesn't result in immediate death. They may die later due to lack of ability to swim, or eat, but that is a secondary cause which is considered important.
Yes, it's probably not gonna help humans, unless some of your friends are gelatinous blobs with no circulatory or nervous system and with a lifespan measured in months.
> We tend to think of the flower—or the jellyfish—as the organism, but these are actually reproductive units.
I'll never look at jellyfish the same.
Portuguese man o’ war is not a single organism at all but a siphonophore, a colony of many genetically identical but specialized individual organisms called zooids, all fused together and functionally dependent on each other.
But no. No such joy.