More On Limb Regeneration Research
From EurekAlert!, a minor update on one of the higher profile efforts to develop limb regeneration technologies: the immediate goal "is to find ways to harness the body's natural regenerative abilities to heal limb wounds that involve bone, muscle, nerves, and soft tissue. For a model of tissue restoration, the scientists will look to the salamander, the only vertebrate that can regrow functional limbs as an adult. Adult salamanders are able to restore lost limbs by first making a blastema, a mass of undifferentiated cells much like stem cells. ... researchers will then attempt to recreate that regenerative ability in the mouse, giving this animal model the ability to develop a blastema and regenerate digits. ... if they are successful in achieving limb regrowth in a mammalian model, it will be the first step toward the long-term goal of regenerating digits, and perhaps whole limbs, in humans."
Link: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-06/wpi-wpi063006.php