The ability to regrow body parts is dormant in mammals, not lost
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/06/260617032207.htmOpen linkView original on lemmy.bestiver.seSyndicated from the fediverse. Read and engage on the original instance.
View original on lemmy.bestiver.sehttps://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/06/260617032207.htmOpen linkView original on lemmy.bestiver.se
5 replies
Where's the joke about the guy donating his 5th kidney
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.
How cool would it be though, like a true knee replacement, or the holy grail lower spine replacement
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.
Spiderman: not again.