It’s Fun to Know: Salamander Limb Regeneration

When a salamander loses a leg, it can re-grow a perfect replacement within a couple of months.

How? When a leg is cut off, blood vessels in the stump close up immediately to stop bleeding. Then new skin cells grow over the injury. A few days later, the same type of cells that grew the salamander’s legs when it was an embryo are activated, and the replacement begins to form.

University of California researchers are studying this phenomenon in hopes of transferring the regenerative ability to humans.

(Source: Scientific American)