Scientists have managed to capture the explosive sting of jellyfish on film using a camera capable of taking 1.4 million frames per second and discover that it’s quite possibly the fastest cellular process in nature. As it turns out Jellyfish can hit with as much force as a bullet, and their explosive cocktail of nerve and blood attacking toxins fire out at the same speed.
Miniature stinger cells, called nematocysts, cloak the tentacles of jellyfish in their thousands and each harbours a deadly cocktail of toxins that attack the nerves and blood of their victims. Injecting the poisons into prey requires a discharge forceful enough to break through the shells of crustaceans.
When the tentacle touches its prey the lid of the nematocyst flips open, triggering the folded collagen spring to release outwards. This ejects a sharp spine, known as a stylet. The stylet pierces the external barrier of the prey with a pressure of more than 7 billion Pascals – in the range of that generated by a bullet fired from a gun.
Check out the short but cool video, 240,000 frames per second (143kb Quicktime).
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