User:Ms1904/Nomura's jellyfish

Ecology
(I have left comments on your draft on Talk Page, delete once you have taken my comments, Luke Insana) While jellyfish blooms have been documented in the Sea of Japan since the writing of their first history book, the blooms of Nemopilema nomurai have been more recent. Since the beginning of the 20th century the instances of N. nomurai explosive blooms have been on the increase, a fact not helped by their size — being one of the largest species of jellyfish recorded. 'The largest N. nomurai'' blooms have been documented between the years of 2002 - 2003, during the time in which these blooms took place it was observed that the fishing industry was affected negatively. ''' This species of jellyfish feeds mostly on zooplankton in all stages of life, feeding on larger fish as they grow larger. Their only predators consist of swordfish, tuna, sunfish, leatherback turtles, and humans.

Envenomations
Severe envenomations are becoming more common than ever. Victims of a sting from the N. Nomurai jellyfish may present symptoms of itching, swelling, acute pain, local erythrosis, and inflammation; in severe cases, the envenomations can cause death. Recent research has also revealed that the myotoxicity caused by the presence of Nemopilema nomurai nematocyst venom (NnNV) in the body, which leads to Oedematogenic effects on the victims skin as well as resulting in the necrosis of the muscle tissue in some cases can be prohibited by metalloproteinase inhibitors such as Batimastat (BMT) and Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). The nematocyst venom of the N. nomurai is composed of complex, toxic mixtures of proteins. Further research is in progress to determine the key factors within these protein mixtures, which could predict specific symptoms from the venom and aid in treatment. Using experimental omics-based approaches, research has revealed different sting related proteins and enzymatic components such as metalloproteinase and phospholipase A2s, as well as differences in hemolytic activity. However, research has yet to provide a correlation between these components and symptoms of the envenomation.

Medical
One patent suggested the use of mucin of the Nomura’s jellyfish to treat joint diseases such as osteoarthritis, although clinical data are lacking. Although more research in the field is required, in recent cancer related studies it has been shown that Nemopilema nomurai jellyfish venom (NnV) can inhibit Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in HepG2 cells '''. EMT aids in the early stages of metastasis, which is most commonly seen in cancer, and causes the cells to develop cancer like properties . The study conducted showed that when cells with EMT were treated with NnV, it had a hindering effect on the EMT and the cancer like properties of the cells .'''

Life Cycle
The life cycle of Nemopilema nomurai is very similar to that of other rhizostomes. Nomura’s jellyfish are normally found in the Yellow Sea and populations are generally maintained there year round. During June and July, changes in the water salinity lead to the expatriation of larval stage jellyfish via the Tsushima strait. In 2005 the largest blooms were in late October. It is noted that this species of jellyfish in six months can grow from the size of a grain of rice to greater than 6 ft wide.