Nautilus

The Case for Eating Jellyfish

Scientists are exploring how jellyfish could be used as a greater source of food, in medicine and nutraceuticals.Photograph by Pixabay / silverstrike24

A few summers ago, Stefano Piraino was walking along the rocky shoreline on a small island off the coast of Sicily when he spotted a washed up jellyfish. Naturally, he tore a piece off and popped it into his mouth.

“After a few days in that state they lose their stinging cells, and the UV radiation from the sun should have killed any bacteria,”  he said. “But still, I wouldn’t recommend it.”

Like an increasing number of researchers, Piraino, a biologist at the University of Salento in Lecce, Italy, is interested in turning huge blooms

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