Genevieve LeBaron

Thursday, March 26th 2015

4th Hour
The Immortal Jellyfish Debate
What if a jellyfish could cause immortality in humans? There are many things that make
this a difficult thing to develop. Immortality does not mean someone won't die, it's hard to
research, and could go against religions. In hindsight, there is more trouble than peace in
allowing jellyfish to assist humans in becoming immortal.
Being immortal doesn't stop someone from being shot and killed. In reality, there are so
many ways a person could die that isn't natural. A natural cause of death would classify as
cardiac arrest, or something that couldn't be caused by an outside factor. Lots of things are
responsible for deaths. Coroner's count a heart attack or a fatal seizure as a 'natural death.'
What does the DNA that allows jellyfish to return to the polyp stage consider natural? No one
knows. Life is not guaranteed with the immortal gene.
Another reason why immortality should not be pursued is because of religion. Many
religions follow the belief that death is a way to continue your souls journey. Without death, how
would a soul do such a thing? Religions teach immortality of a soul but not of someone's body
or mind. Many people would be outraged. The risk of controversy over the sensitive topic of
immortality could cause riots or even people's lives. If a scientist has trouble with an immortal
jellyfish, would there ever be an immortal person? In reality, it is hard to research these fish.
There are only a few scientists that study these kind of jellyfish, known as hydroid scientists.
Another difficulty of researching them is that it's hard to work with these jellyfish. It requires an
extensive amount of attention and labor. There are only certain conditions that the jellyfish
reproduce as well, and scientists don't know these conditions yet.

A person who wants to be immortal might think that living forever is a good thing. How
glorious would it be to wake up and know that the day they woke up to will probably never be
their last? Also, being able to live with your loved ones forever, that seems amazing, correct?
However, some forget the downfalls of actually getting the ability to live a never ending life.
There could be serious risks of the jellyfish gene in humans. They would spend endless
amounts of money just to get it. It could cause side effects we don't know of. It could also be
outrageously expensive. Although, if the immortal jellyfish is never researched to help humans it
wouldn't cause these things. There's just too much risk of failure.
A jellyfish should not be the way to become immortal. Becoming immortal would not be an
easy task.. There are many risks to being immortal. Being immortal doesn't guarantee someone
living, it's also hard to research, and it goes against religions Your time living doesn't have to be
long to be great. Immortality would not change your happiness, you have to do that for yourself.

Bibliography
Against:
"On the Immortality of the Soul." Religion and Spirituality:. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/religion-and-spirituality-immortal-souls/64176.aspx>.

Rich, Nathaniel. "Can a Jellyfish Unlock the Secret of Immortality?" The New York Times. The
New York Times, 01 Dec. 2012. Web. 01 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/magazine/can-a-jellyfish-unlock-the-secret-ofimmortality.html?_r=0>.

Rogers, Simon. "What Do People Die Of?" The Guardian. The Guardian, n.d. Web. <http%3A
%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fnews%2Fdatablog%2F2012%2Fnov
%2F06%2Fdeaths-mortality-rates-cause-death-2011>.
For:
Clow, Ethan. "What's Wrong with Immortality?" What's Wrong with Immortality? N.p., n.d.
Web. 01 Apr. 2015. <http://www.skepticnorth.com/2010/03/whats-wrong-withimmortality/>.

"Pros and Cons of Immortality." Ignite Channel. N.p., 01 Apr. 2015. Web. 01 Apr. 2015.
<https://ignitechannel.com/pros-and-cons-of-immortality/>.