Sensing mechanism helps jellyfish detect sea currents direction

   JERUSALEM, Jan. 30  -- Israeli researchers have discovered a sensing mechanism that allows jellyfish to detect the direction of underwater currents, the University of Haifa (UH) said Thursday.
   The discovery may help deal with the jellyfish swarms at facilities that are located on coasts, such as power plants filters of the Israeli power company on the Mediterranean coast.
   The research, led by UH researchers tried to find a solution for the masses of jellyfish which could disrupt the electricity generation processes, as the coastal stations use seawater to cool generation systems.
   The jellyfish, which has been existing for about 500 million years, almost without any morphological changes, can survive with little oxygen and at extreme temperatures.
   In recent years, it has become clear that the animal can swim, avoid turbulence and direct themselves by movement of its bell structure.
   In the new study, it was discovered that jellyfish can sense and identify the direction of the current.
   This is contrary to the hypothesis that the jellyfish are supposed to be "blind" in the direction of the sea currents, like a man walking with his eyes closed in a train and not knowing which way he is going.
   Understanding the jellyfish's movement, sensing, and navigation mechanisms allows a better understanding of their migration patterns, the researchers concluded.  Xinhua