How are Cnidaria and Ctenophora of biomedical importance? Can they cause medical issues?

1. How are Cnidaria and Ctenophora of biomedical importance? Can they cause medical issues? Aliah Marzolf, Connor Siegel, Leah Bilski, Lauren Stagner and Jenna Behnke

2. Detecting Harmful Cells in the Body - Scientists have built a jellyfish-inspired microchip that can capture cancer and other rare cells in human blood. - Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital used the jellyfish body design to build a microfluidic chip coated with long strands of repeating DNA sequences that bind to specific proteins on cancer cells as they float through the blood. - By building these three-dimensional “tentacles” researchers were able to capture large entities in the blood, such as whole cells, and a lot of them. - This design also makes it easier to release the cells from the tentacles after they have been collected.

3. Turritopsis dohrni!!! This jellyfish was first observed in the Mediterranean but has now also been found in the waters of Panama, Spain, Florida and Japan. also known as the Benjamin Button jellyfish, or the immortal jellyfish, is a species of jellyfish that can at any stage of its life cycle can transform itself back to the earliest life stage, that of a polyp. This happens as a result of environmental stress or physical insults. The polyp will later spawn clones (genetic copies) of the original animal.

4. New use for proteins derived from jellyfish Cancers deep within the body are difficult to spot at an early stage, and early diagnosis is critical for the successful treatment of any form of cancer. A new scientific development which involves inserting proteins derived from luminous jellyfish cells into human cancer cells allows doctors to detect early stages of cancer with a specialized camera that detects these proteins as they light up, indicating where the tumours are.

5. Cnidarian toxins and It’s effects on small cell lung cancer Monroy-Estrada, H., Chirino, Y., Soria-Mercado, I., & Sanchez-Rodriguez, J. (n.d). Toxins from the Caribbean sea anemone Bunodeopsis globulifera increase cisplatin-induced cytotoxicity of lung adenocarcinoma cells. Journal Of Venomous Animals And Toxins Including Tropical Diseases, 19 • A study was done in may 2013 on the effects of the venom of sea anemone Bunodeopsis globulifera on

6. Dangerous Cnidaria! • Almost invisible in water • About 10 mm across bell with one tentacle from each corner • Found close to the coast between Port Douglas and the Whitsundays, Queensland • Stings cause Irukandji syndrome carybdeid Carukia barnesi Box Jellyfish Portuguese man o’war “cubozoan jellyfish” Stinging cells of some cubozoan jellyfish are concentrated in bands on the tentacles. Portuguese man-o-war which has a float which can be 250-300mm long. The float of the Pacific man-o-war has 7-8 long retractile tentacles and many shorter, fine tentacles hanging from it. The long retractile tentacles can be extended to 10 metres long. The Pacific man-o-war causes a sting which is more painful than those from the bluebottle. The pain can be relieved by cold packs. In some cases, the victim may suffer a moderate Irukandji-like syndrome with back pain, and muscle cramps in the limbs, abdomen and chest. http://www.reef.crc.org.au/publications/brochures/Carybdeidjellyfish.htm

7. Cnidaria and Bone Grafts -Natural coral graft substitutes are derived from the exoskeleton of marine madreporic corals. -1970 in animals and 1979 in humans. -The structure of the commonly used coral, Porites, is similar to that of cancellous bone and its initial mechanical properties resemble those of bone. (source = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11847406) source = http://www.wetwebmedia.com/cnidbehfaqs.htm

8. Citations http://www.theawl.com/2010/11/new-medical-use-for-jellyfish-may-yield-awesome-sci-fi-movie http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/biomedical/devices/jellyfishinspired-microchip-captures-cancer-cells http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turritopsis_dohrnii