How Deep-Sea Comb Jellies Hold Their Shape Under Crushing Pressure

The delicate sea creatures fall apart when brought to the surface but can survive miles deep in the ocean due to special cell wall structures, according to a new study

For us land-dwellers, being crushed under several miles of ocean water wouldn’t end very well. But for a deep-sea dwelling ctenophore, also known as a comb jelly, being brought up to the surface can be just as bad­.

Scientists working with comb jellies have witnessed this firsthand—taken from their deep-sea environments, the ctenophores seemingly “melt” in the lab, losing their shape and essentially disintegrating. Now, a new study published last week in Science tackles the mystery of why this happens, revealing how these creatures’ cells are specifically tuned to the depths where they live.

“For some deep-sea ctenophores, their cell membranes are literally held together by pressure,” Jacob Winnikoff, a deep-sea biochemist at Harvard University and the study’s lead author, tells Scientific American’s Elizabeth Anne Brown.

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