November 2, 2007

Growing back a lost limb

Researchers are looking into the possibilities of trying to recreate the famous healing qualities of the salamander, this is where they are able to grow back their tails and limbs. You may be questioning as to what this has to do with human medicine?

Surprisingly there was a man who had an accident where the tip of his finger was severed, but instead of running off to the hospital he applied some substance made from a pigs bladder which is believed has tissue regeneration properties. Amazingly his finger tip had grown back within six weeks.

This is the sort property that Jeremy Brockes of the University College London is interested in, the theory being that it would be possible to find the substance that salamanders use and indeed what the man with the lost finger had and utilise this into a treatment where, say someone lost a hand, then this treatment would help the body grow another.

Source [Live Science]