Scientists Make Jellyfish Faster

Researchers have used very small electronic devices to make jellyfish stronger and faster.

The scientists say they developed these electronic jellyfish in the hopes of sending them to study and explore the world's oceans.

A report on the experiment was published in the journal Science Advances.

The study

Jellyfish are unusual creatures. They move through seawater by contracting, or reducing the size of, their muscles.

For the experiment, the researchers put an electronic device, about 2 centimeters in length, inside a moon jellyfish, a common kind of jellyfish.

The researchers said the device caused the creatures to move their bodies more often. They swam around three times faster than usual. These jellyfish use "10 to 1000 times less external power per mass than other aquatic¹ robots reported in literature," noted² Nicole Xu and John Dabiri, the two lead authors of the report.

Jellyfish are known to release mucus at times when they are tense or feeling stressed. No such reaction was noted during the study. The jellyfish swam normally after the electronic device was removed, the researchers said.

"Care is taken not to harm the jellyfish," Dabiri explained.

The future

The next step will be to test ways to control where the jellyfish go. Another possible step: to develop small sensors³ that could take long-term measurements of ocean conditions, added Xu and Dabiri.

"It's very sci-fi futuristic," said Xu, a bioengineer at Stanford University in California. "We could send these bionic jellyfish to different areas of the ocean to monitor signs of climate change or observe natural phenomena⁴."

One of the first goals will be deep dives, added Dabiri, who studies mechanical engineering and serves as a professor at the California Institute of Technology. Deep dives are important because of a major gap in human understanding of the deep oceans.

"Basically, we'd release the bionic jellyfish at the surface, have it swim down to increasing depths, and see just how far we can get it to go down into the ocean and still make it back to the surface with data," he said.

"Jellyfish have existed for over 500 million years, and over that time, their body structure has remained largely unchanged, said Xu. "So it's interesting to figure out what makes them so special and how we can learn from them."

She added, "Because we use animals with natural swimming motions, the hope is that they won't disturb the environment in the same way that a submarine might, so we can expand the types of environments we can monitor."

Words in This Story

aquatic – adj. living or found in or near water

author – n. the writer of a book or report

mucus – n. a thick substance that is produced in some parts of the body (such as the nose and throat)

sci-fi – adj. short for science fiction, a story based on imagined improvements in science or technology and major changes in society or the environment

phenomenon – n. plural⁵ phenomena; something (such as an interesting fact or event) that can be observed and studied and that typically is unusual or difficult to understand or explain fully⁶

gap – n. a hole or space in an object or between two objects

disturb – v. to interfere with the normal operation of something; to change the position, arrangement, or order of (something)

1 aquatic   

adj.水生的，水栖的

参考例句：

• Aquatic sports include swimming and rowing.水上运动包括游泳和划船。
• We visited an aquatic city in Italy.我们在意大利访问过一个水上城市。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

4 phenomena   

n.现象

参考例句：

• Ade couldn't relate the phenomena with any theory he knew.艾德无法用他所知道的任何理论来解释这种现象。
• The object of these experiments was to find the connection,if any,between the two phenomena.这些实验的目的就是探索这两种现象之间的联系，如果存在着任何联系的话。

5 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。