Unlike humans, African clawed Frogs can't regrow missing limbs. Humans may be able to grow new limbs in the laboratory thanks to the work done by scientists.
The stumps where the legs of the frog had been removed were treated with a five-drug cocktail. The stumps were let to soak in the treatment for 24 hours.
Within 18 months, the frog had grown leglike limbs and were using them to swim. The legs were fully functional even though they had no toenails or webbing between the toes.
The drug cocktail worked because it used compounds that are part of normal development. The new study was published in the journal Science Advances.
Murugan thinks she will live to see the day when scientists grow human limbs again.
The biomedical engineering aspect is trying to understand and fix biology. She said that integration is going to make this happen.
Some people are not optimistic about seeing a human limb grow.
If I live another 45 years, which would make me 90, I don't think we will be able to regenerate an entire adult human limb.
Kelly Tseng, who leads regeneration research at the University of Nevada, did not make any predictions about human-limb regrowth in her lifetime.
Regeneration has been studied for over 300 years. It is one of the oldest topics in biology and it is difficult to study.
Regeneration of organs might be possible with the help of regenerative therapies. A condition in which nerves at the amputation site continue sending pain signals to the brain is called phantom limb pain.
Humans are growing. Human organs can grow back after being removed. Children can grow their fingertips. The top layer of our skin is prone to regeneration.
mammals cover their wounds with scar tissue, which prevents the body from reproducing damaged or lost tissues
Scientists don't fully understand what makes a wound heal. Learning to induce regrowth in human organs and limbs requires investigating those processes. He is using a spiny mouse in his lab to grow its ears after a large hole has been punched into them.
The new frog legs were called a marginal success by Seifert, who pointed to the work of Marcus Singer, a zoologist who regenerated frog limbs in the 1950s. The University of Minnesota produced frog limbs with toe-like digits, similar to the ones in Murugan's study, by using stem cells.
Stem-cell therapy for regrowing limbs is still being studied. Others are adding genes to encourage growth.
As a researcher, we have our own favorite approach or what we think might be a better method.
Some researchers at the university have been able to grow mouse limbs. In a 2012 study, they covered mouse amputation wounds with a patch that stimulates bone development. The new limbs of the mice did not form joints.
The team used a similar method. They applied a silk-based gel containing growth-stimulating medicine to the amputation site.
The Wall Street Journal reported that two of the people who worked on the study have founded a company to develop the technology.
The approach of applying drugs that encourage existing cells to grow is something that both Seifert and Tseng like. This method could be used for medical applications.
The team is moving to mice. The BioDome did not regrowth the missing toes in mice that had amputations, but now they have a new drug cocktail to apply.
Similar to stem cells, researchers must avoid triggering the patient's immune system, which could cause scarring.
Will we ever be able to regenerate a human digit or limb? It is impossible to predict how long we need to wait.
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