Can Humans Regenerate Body Parts?

Humans have the 'untapped' ability to regenerate body parts just like salamanders, scientists claim

• Researchers compared the behaviour of proteins in mammals and amphibians
• They found an increase in macrophages in a salamander in response to injury 
• This led to the promotion of tissue growth, while in mammals it led to scarring
• The team say scarring holds the key to regeneration and finding a way to block it in humans through drugs could allow for limb regeneration in the distant future 

Like salamanders, humans have an 'untapped' ability to regenerate parts of their body such as a lost limb, according to a team of researchers. The axolotl, a Mexican salamander all but extinct in the wild, is a 'champion of regeneration' able to recreate almost any body part, including the brain. Studying this unusual amphibian helped experts from MDI Biological Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, to conclude humans have an 'untapped' ability to regenerate. Read more...

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