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Philadelphia Inquirer, Monday, April 26, 2010
Heal thyself: Researchers are examining mice and salamanders for keys to regeneration in humans.
By Faye Flam
Inquirer Staff Writer
When Wistar Institute scientists announced last month they could endow mice with enhanced healing powers by altering just one gene, it raised a question: Why didn't evolution lead to mice - and people - with this power in the first place? Were we mammals cheated by evolution?
Scientists know that a few amphibians and fish can regrow lost limbs, fins, organs, and even the lenses of their eyes. Among vertebrates, the champion healers are salamanders, who can generate a whole new leg, if needed. For years, scientists have been looking into the salamander's cellular structure and genetic code, trying to divine its secret..............
..........When a salamander loses a leg, it forms a nub of stem cells called a blastema, said Jeremy Brockes of the University College, London. He said it's not yet clear whether the MRL or the p21 mice are making blastemas as well. "It's not something where there's any agreed-about definition," he said.
One key property of a blastema is you can take one that's starting to form a new salamander leg, cut it off, transplant it to another part of the salamander's body, and it will continue to grow a leg........
Full Story:
Heal thyself | Philadelphia Inquirer | 04/26/2010
Heal thyself: Researchers are examining mice and salamanders for keys to regeneration in humans.
By Faye Flam
Inquirer Staff Writer
When Wistar Institute scientists announced last month they could endow mice with enhanced healing powers by altering just one gene, it raised a question: Why didn't evolution lead to mice - and people - with this power in the first place? Were we mammals cheated by evolution?
Scientists know that a few amphibians and fish can regrow lost limbs, fins, organs, and even the lenses of their eyes. Among vertebrates, the champion healers are salamanders, who can generate a whole new leg, if needed. For years, scientists have been looking into the salamander's cellular structure and genetic code, trying to divine its secret..............
..........When a salamander loses a leg, it forms a nub of stem cells called a blastema, said Jeremy Brockes of the University College, London. He said it's not yet clear whether the MRL or the p21 mice are making blastemas as well. "It's not something where there's any agreed-about definition," he said.
One key property of a blastema is you can take one that's starting to form a new salamander leg, cut it off, transplant it to another part of the salamander's body, and it will continue to grow a leg........
Full Story:
Heal thyself | Philadelphia Inquirer | 04/26/2010