EverythingScience Chat

Cracking the axolotl code: How to regrow limbs and stay young Minor cuts and scrapes usually heal in time, but losing a finger or a whole limb? For most vertebrates, that's a done deal. Unless, of course, you've got the self-healing machinery of an axolotl. These unusually resilient and famously photogenic aquatic salamanders—native to Mexico—can regenerate parts of their bodies, including limbs, eyes and even bits of their brain. With their frilly pink gills and heartwarming smiles, they're always camera-ready—even if they have to regrow an appendage or two first. Axolotls are also the Peter Pans of the amphibian class. Like the fictional boy who never wanted to grow up, they skip the transitional stage that ushers most of their counterparts into adulthood on land and remain in tadpole form forever. While they don't have to worry about aging, certain diseases—as well as predators—do catch up with them in time. Most live 10 to 15 years. So why can axolotls—these charismatic creatures—regrow a limb, whereas humans just undergo wound healing? And how is it that most organisms go through aging while a lucky few get to press a pause button? Understanding regeneration could allow for an axolotl-style intervention into wound healing and the aging process, according to Northeastern University professor of biology and mathematics Calina Copos. The question at the heart of both pathways is what steers cells down one path versus the other, she said. Each decision point is a fork in the road. Copos is investigating how cells, the basic building blocks of body tissues, respond differently to outside pressures. Source: Phys.org @EverythingScience