Regrow Human Limbs and Body Parts
Regrow Penises
Regrow Breasts
Now there is news about research into regrowing human limbs and body parts like the salamander does and how lizards regrow a tail. If perfected, this will be a miraculous boon to humankind.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091214121434.htm
How Do Salamanders Grow a New Leg? Protein Mechanisms Behind Limb Regeneration
A female wild-type axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum). The most comprehensive study to date of the proteins in a species of salamander that can regrow appendages may provide important clues to how similar regeneration could be induced in humans. (Credit: iStockphoto/Armin Hinterwirth)
ScienceDaily (Dec. 15, 2009) — The most comprehensive study to date of the proteins in a species of salamander that can regrow appendages may provide important clues to how similar regeneration could be induced in humans.
Researchers at the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and colleagues investigated over three hundred proteins in the amputated limbs of axolotls, a type of salamander that has the unique natural ability to regenerate appendages from any level of amputation, with the hope that this knowledge will contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms that allow limbs to regenerate.
"In some ways this study of the axoltol's proteins was a fishing expedition. Fishing expedition can be a derogatory term in biology but for us it was positive, since we caught some important "fish" that enable us to formulate hypotheses as to how limb regeneration occurs," said David L. Stocum, Ph.D., professor of biology and director of the Indiana University Center for Regenerative Biology and Medicine, both in the School of Science at IUPUI, who led the study.
"Comparison of these proteins to those expressed in the amputated frog limb, which regenerates poorly, will hopefully allow us to determine how we might enhance limb regeneration in the frog and ultimately in humans, Dr. Stocum said.
With few exceptions -- notably the antlers of moose, deer and their close relatives, the tips of the fingers and toes of humans and rodents, and the ear tissue of certain strains of mice and rabbits -- the appendages of mammals do not regenerate after amputation.
Limb regeneration in the axolotl occurs when undifferentiated cells accumulate under the wound epidermis at the amputation site, a process known as the establishment of a blastema. These cells are derived by the reprogramming of differentiated cells to a less specialized state, and from resident stem cells.
"We found proteins that point to several areas that need to be studied closely to give us vital information about the mechanisms that operate to form a blastema that then goes on to regenerate the missing parts of the limb," said Dr. Stocum, an internationally respected cell and developmental biologist who has studied limb regeneration for over three decades.
Investigating the proteins found in the axolotl limb, the researchers noted three findings that appear to have significance in reprogramming cells to grow new limbs:
- Quantities of enzymes involved in metabolism decreased significantly during the regeneration process.
- There were many proteins that helped cells avoid cell death. Because amputation is very traumatic, this is critical.
- A protein which appears to keep cells from dividing until they are fully dedifferentiated and reprogrammed to begin forming a new limb was expressed at high levels throughout blastema formation.
Findings were published online in the journal Biomedical Central Biology on November 30 (BMC Biology 7:83, 2009). Co-authors of the study, which was funded by the W. M. Keck Foundation, are Nandini Rao, Ph.D. and graduate student Behnaz Saranjami of the School of Science; graduate student Deepali Jhamb and Mathew Palakal, Ph.D. of the IU School of Informatics; Fengyu Song, D.D.S., M.S., Ph.D. of the IU School of Dentistry; Mu Wang, Ph.D. and Michael W. King, Ph.D. of the IU School of Medicine; Bingbing Li, Ph.D. of Central Michigan University; S. Randal Voss, Ph.D. of the University of Kentucky; and Derek J. Milner, Holly L. D. Nye and Jo Ann Cameron, Ph.D. of the University of Illinois. All except the final four are also affiliated with the IU Center for Regenerative Biology and Medicine.
The School of Science, IU Center for Regenerative Biology and Medicine, IU School of Dentistry, IU School of Informatics, and IU School of Medicine are all located on the IUPUI campus.
Related Stories
Lost An Appendage? Grow Another (July 30, 2008) — Cut off one finger from a salamander and one will grow back. Cut off two and two will grow back. It sounds logical, but how the salamander always regenerates the right number of fingers is still a ... > read more
Salamanders, Regenerative Wonders, Heal Like Mammals, People (July 2, 2009) — The salamander is a superhero of regeneration, able to replace lost limbs, damaged lungs, sliced spinal cord -- even bits of lopped-off brain. Based on experiments on genetically modified axolotl ... > read more
Scientists Regenerate Wing In Chick Embryo (Nov. 19, 2006) — Chop off a salamander's leg and a brand new one will sprout in no time. But most animals have lost the ability to replace missing limbs. Now, a research team at the Salk Institute for Biological ... > read more
How To Mend A Broken Heart: Zebrafish Hold Key To Regeneration (Nov. 3, 2006) — When a portion of a zebrafish's heart is removed, the dynamic interplay between a mass of stem cells that forms in the wound and the protective cell layer that covers the wound spurs the regeneration ... > read more1 Comments:
-
At Saturday, December 19, 2009 5:58:00 PM ,
Thomas said...
Labels: regrow limbs-body parts
posted by Anonymous @ 12/17/2009 11:00:00 AM
17 Comments
Memorial, built over her sunken body, grave to the men who went down with her. 68 years later she still lies bleeding - large globs of oil, her life blood, rise to the surface now and then. 
Some other interesting information on this subject:
http://www.ted.com/talks/alan_russell_on_regenerating_our_bodies.html