All articles tagged with #jellyfish
A swarm of jellyfish clogged cooling pumps at EDF’s Gravelines nuclear power station in northern France, prompting the shutdown of three of six reactors and reducing a fourth to half output, leaving one reactor online. EDF said safety and the environment remain unaffected, with on-site teams and preventive fishing patrolsSteps underway to reconnect the plant to the grid and reduce future pump blockages.
Extreme heat, droughts and a jellyfish swarm knocked about 20% of France's nuclear output offline, with 13 of 57 reactors affected (8 shut, 5 reduced). Gravelines was hit hardest as jellyfish clogged cooling pumps, and others faced cooling-water constraints; officials say there is enough leeway to avoid short-term supply problems.
Jellyfish swarms forced parts of the Gravelines nuclear plant offline on Aug. 11, 2026, repeating a 2025 disruption as several dozen tons clogged cooling pumps; EDF deployed cameras and patrol boats to monitor and prevent major influx, highlighting how warming seas are increasing biotic disruptions to France’s reactors.
Researchers studying the tiny jellyfish Clytia hemisphaerica show its epithelial cells can close wounds in minutes without scarring, via a two-stage process: lamellipodia extend across the damaged basement membrane to cover the gap, then an actomyosin cable contracts to pull cells together and expel debris. For larger wounds, a collective sheet migration restores tissue. Because the jellyfish lacks inflammation and blood vessels, scientists can observe the core mechanics of wound repair in real time, providing a simplified model that could inform future regenerative medicine, though direct translation to humans remains uncertain.
An American F-15 was shot down over Iran during Operation Epic Fury, and a pilot said he observed Iranian drones flying in a coordinated jellyfish-like formation, potentially contributing to the downing; the incident’s cause is under investigation, with analysts warning such drone swarms could signal a more capable threat.
Scientists uncover a deep-water whale graveyard in the Diamantina Fracture Zone of the southeastern Indian Ocean where fossilized bones have become a bustling habitat for marine life, including jellyfish and bone-eating worms.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral produced a luminous, jellyfish‑shaped cloud visible across Florida as dawn broke, drawing early risers to witness the unusual sky display likely linked to rocket exhaust and Starlink activity.
Researchers from Tohoku University and the National University of Singapore identified a new box jellyfish, Chironex blakangmati, off Sentosa Island, Singapore, distinguishing it from related species by distinct perradial lappet morphology and confirming it with genetic analysis, expanding the Chironex genus to four species. In the same expedition, samples of C. indrasaksajiae—previously associated with Thai waters—were found in Singapore for the first time, indicating a surprising range expansion. The study highlights Southeast Asia’s jellyfish biodiversity and public-safety implications and was published in the Raffles Bulletin of Zoology.
ULA's Atlas V is slated to launch Monday night, April 27, 2026, with a window from 8:52 p.m. to 9:51 p.m. Local sunset in Raleigh is around 8:00 p.m., so the rocket's vapor trail could be illuminated as it moves east, potentially forming a jellyfish-like glow about three minutes after liftoff. Look toward the eastern sky shortly after launch to catch the display; a live stream is available.
Researchers in Hong Kong’s Mai Po Nature Reserve describe Tripedalia maipoensis, a tiny box jellyfish about 0.6 inches long, as a new species—the fourth described in the Tripedaliidae family. DNA analysis shows it is distinct from Tripedalia cystophora (16S rRNA ~17.4% difference). The jellyfish has 24 eyes arranged in four rhopalia, with two lens eyes likely forming images to aid navigation under mangroves. Found during nocturnal sampling of shrimp ponds, this is the first box jellyfish formally reported from Chinese coastal waters and underscores hidden biodiversity in human-modified habitats. The study was published in Zoological Studies.
A Danish study finds jellyfish from two species feeding on polychaete worms, a burrowing bottom-dweller, marking the first documented instance. Across a year, 45 of 166 Aurelia aurita and 3 of 71 Mnemiopsis leidyi were found with worms in their guts, typically when worms rise to spawn at night. This seasonal feeding burst adds a new layer to fjord energy flow and could affect ecosystems if the invasive M. leidyi expands.
A newly described hydrozoan jellyfish species off Japan keeps a self-sustained 20-hour cycle that governs sunset spawning, suggesting an alternate, non-traditional circadian mechanism that evolved without standard clock genes.
NASA tested gravity sensing in space by sending thousands of jellyfish polyps to orbit in the 1990s. After about nine days, tens of thousands of jellyfish developed, but once returned to Earth the space-born jellyfish struggled to swim and exhibited vertigo, suggesting that humans born in space might also face difficulties re-adapting to Earth's gravity.
Scientists filming off Argentina’s coast with the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s ROV SuBastian captured rare footage of Stygiomedusa gigantea, a schoolbus-sized phantom jellyfish that can reach about 33 feet in length at depths around 820 feet; the deep-sea sighting, notable for its four ribbon-like arms used to snare prey, came amid footage of potential new species and rich reef systems uncovered during the expedition.
Venice’s lagoon is being invaded by Mnemiopsis leidyi, the warty comb jelly known as the sea walnut, originally from the western Atlantic and now spreading through the Adriatic likely via ballast water and warmer waters linked to climate change. Scientists warn the invasive jellyfish are proliferating, clogging nets and preying on fish eggs, larvae and plankton, which harms the lagoon ecosystem and threatens the region’s multi‑billion‑euro fishing industry as conditions become increasingly favorable for its spread.