fused

To test whether this comb jelly was actually two individuals who had fused together, the scientists tested individual ctenophores collected at different sites on separate dates.

Fellow co-author Kei Jokura, a biologist at the University of Exeter, initially discovered the fused comb jelly.

“However, this differs from our finding, where previously independent organisms fused in just a few hours, merging nervous and digestive systems functionally,” Jokura said.

Jokura added he was most intrigued by “the synchronized contraction of the muscles, which indicates that nerve cells fused quickly, allowing the sharing of electrical signals or action potentials. This could imply a form of shared consciousness, making this phenomenon a valuable experimental model for studying integration mechanisms.”

Ultimately, what unites all these data points — from opposition to hurricane relief and attacks on civil service, public education and health care to targeting individual political opponents and minority groups for harassment and discrimination — is the Republican Party’s slide into neopatrimonialism, in which the interests of the state become fused with the whims of the leader, and the purpose of government is no longer to serve the American people, but to punish them.