Investigating the Details of Regeneration in Lower Animals
For some years now, researchers have been deciphering the mechanisms of regeneration in lower animals - limbs and organs regrown when lost. Here is an example of the sort of detail work taking place today: "Human regeneration is mainly limited to small portions of liver tissue, bone, or muscle, yet understanding how regeneration occurs in other taxonomic groups may enable scientists to improve human regenerative abilities in the future. ... Lizards can regenerate facial bones, certain areas of the spinal cord, and, as is most commonly known, most lizards can regenerate their tail - including muscles, cartilage, and spinal cord. The regenerated tail does not contain bone, but instead is supported by a tube of hyaline cartilage - the same cartilage humans have lining many of their joints. With widespread medical problems such as arthritis and spinal cord injuries, the application of these regenerative abilities is of extreme interest to medical institutions. .. Many vertebrate and invertebrate species can regenerate tissues, but there are several kinds of regeneration. Lizards most likely use stem-cell mediated regeneration, where new cells involved in regrowth arise from tissue-specific progenitor cells. This type of regeneration is the best bet for a regenerative process compatible with the human system ... the beauty is that now we know enough about development that we can actually have candidates for what cells are making this new tail - we can have guesses as to what might be right. ... Once we understand the nuts and bolts of how this is happening, we can use available technologies to manipulate and change that, then we will try to translate that to the mouse model."
Link: http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-12-tale-told-tails-gained-anoles.html