Humans may have hidden regenerative powers
www.sciencedaily.com
Scientists have taken a surprising step toward unlocking regeneration in mammals, showing that the ability to rebuild complex body parts may not be lost after all—it may simply be switched off. Using a two-stage treatment, researchers redirected the body’s normal healing response away from scar formation and toward regrowth, successfully restoring bone, joints, ligaments, and tendons after amputation in animal studies.
  • Iunnrais@piefed.socialEnglish
    151·
    8 days ago

    Title is slightly misleading. According to the article, it’s the ability to not scar, but instead grow new tissue, that’s what is switched off in mammals. This isn’t regenerating lost limbs, it’s growing tissue— and the tissue it grows at the amputation site isn’t correct at all, which sounds like a good reason for evolution to switch it off.

    It’s still exciting research, because they hope to figure out a way to get stem cells to regrow the correct limb at the injury site instead. But that’s just a hope right now, and very speculative.

    • Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      1·
      4 days ago

      at the very least we should be able to coax the body into growing things over smoothly rather than growing unpleasant scar tissue, i’d assume.

    • justaman123@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      8 days ago

      How cool would it be though, like a true knee replacement, or the holy grail lower spine replacement