The Jellyfish Museum in Pompano Beach houses thousands of jellyfish in all sizes and shapes, offering a window into some of the ocean's most ethereal and elusive creatures. Naphtalie Jeanty, who holds degrees in both archaeology and anthropology, found her way to the museum through a passion for teaching about flora and fauna. Jellyfish have been gracefully moving through the world's oceans for over 500 million years, making them some of the oldest living species on Earth, predating dinosaurs, trees and even fish.
Despite the name, jellyfish are not technically fish at all. Jeanty said a lot of the world is starting to describe them as just jellies, and they do not have the same anatomy as fish.
Researchers at the museum have developed an antidote for the potentially fatal sting of the box jellyfish, which can kill its prey in 3 to 5 minutes. Jeanty said she thinks it is going to be a breakthrough. Other medical advances involve collagen harvested from flame jellies.
The collagen has been apparently found to help stop hemorrhages, so it might be found in bandages in the future. Research into the Japanese sea nettle has also yielded promising results. There is a part of them that was found to shrink tumors in a mouse cancer, and the next step would be possibly human cancer.
Jellyfish also perform something called symmetrization, the ability to reorganize their bodies for balance. Moon jellies can regenerate after being split in half, creating two different versions of themselves. Some jellyfish even scrub out microplastics, among the smallest particles of pollution found in seas.
Polka dotted jellies on display at the museum are native to a lake on the island of Palau in the South Pacific, where they work to keep the lake alive. Jeanty said they provide nutrients and move nutrients all throughout the ocean, taking out excess ones that do not need to be there.