Get the latest tech news
Scientists Discover the Key to Axolotls’ Ability to Regenerate Limbs
A new study reveals the key lies not in the production of a regrowth molecule, but in that molecule's controlled destruction. The discovery could inspire future regenerative medicine.
This perpetually youthful-looking Mexican salamander possesses a superpower that defies biology as we know it: the ability to regenerate entire limbs, parts of its heart, and even its spinal cord. Understanding the minimal components that make it up—the molecular signals, the cellular environment, the physiological conditions—would allow us to transform a scar into a regenerative tissue,” explains Monaghan. In his current research, there are still gaps to be filled: how the CYP26B1 gradient is regulated, how retinoic acid connects to the Shox gene, and what downstream factors determine the formation of specific structures, such as the humerus or radius bones.
Or read this on Wired
