FYI: Regeneration of human limbs.

[mismused]

delete

 

[SeaCat]

This is truly interesting.

The research is worthwhile.

Even if they fall short of thier goal of regrowth of limbs, they may learn more about Cancer and it's treatments.

Yes it would be nice to be able to regrow limbs or organs, just as it would be nice t regulate the undifferntiated and uncontrolled growth of cells.

Cat

 

[CharleyH]

Posted without comment.

* * *

Research brings hope body parts can regrow

Like lower species, humans possess genes that direct the body to make new arms and legs after an injury

By Ronald Kotulak
Tribune science reporter
Published September 29, 2006

Buoyed by recent genetic breakthroughs, researchers at Northwestern University and across the country have hopes of achieving a feat long thought to be impossible: enabling people to replace damaged body parts or even regrow missing limbs.

Like salamanders and other lower species, humans possess genes that direct the body to make new arms and legs after an injury. But in humans, the genes lie dormant, inactivated after evolution favored the swift patching of wounds through scarring over the slow regeneration of body parts.

Hm - interesting research - yet how did they get there?

 

[Guest]

very cool.
i know they can 'grow' ears and various other body parts now with just a small amount of skin. this, i hope, will help find a pathway to other cures as well. (as Sea Cat mentioned.)
wouldn't it be odd, though, if in the beginning, this switch was flipped and people began sprouting limbs in different places on their bodies? in a way, it is scary too. we might be playing with something that could be destructive. we evolved without this gene...should we really be messing with it and could it turn us back on the evolutionary scale? yikes!

 

[izabella]

Soldiers, accident victims, maybe birth defects...this is incredible research!

 

[izabella]

very cool.
i know they can 'grow' ears and various other body parts now with just a small amount of skin. this, i hope, will help find a pathway to other cures as well. (as Sea Cat mentioned.)
wouldn't it be odd, though, if in the beginning, this switch was flipped and people began sprouting limbs in different places on their bodies? in a way, it is scary too. we might be playing with something that could be destructive. we evolved without this gene...should we really be messing with it and could it turn us back on the evolutionary scale? yikes!

According to the article, we evolved with the gene, but it's been turned off in favor of a faster healing method: scarring. Whatever they come up with to turn it on - if they do - that method would need to be used in order to activate the gene in specific cases, so I don't see how it would take the rest of us back anywhere. I supposed once it is turned on, if that person were to reproduce, it could be possible to pass that turned on gene to their children, though...

Still, if I were an accident victim, I'd take my chances.