To those who see this as a Frankenstein scenario, it must be emphasized that this is an experience that could not be reproduced in other species, because their immune systems will instantly attack any foreign body.
Hence the reason for the anti-rejection medications that transplant patients often have to take for the rest of their lives.
No immune system
But ctenophores do not have an immune system, or at least not an immune system capable of distinguishing the cells of the organism from those of another organism.
These creatures, of which there are nearly 150 species distributed in the different oceans, are the descendants of a branch of life which separated from ours several hundred million years ago. Ctenophores may look like jellyfish, but they are actually cousins of plankton.
Two mouths
Previous observations that inspired this research involved pairs of injured ctenophores that were brought together in an aquarium in such a way that their wounds touched each other.
Canada
