DEEP LOOK is an award-winning PBS program produced by KQED. Here’s another cool story from season 5 Episode 13.
Shred a sponge into thousands of pieces but the cells can still rearrange and organize themselves in a surprisingly rapid manner. Here we are shown a snapshot of another example of limb regeneration from the crustacean blackback land crab (Gecarcinus ruricola) native to the Caribbean.
Human tissue and organ regeneration is a curious goal for medicine. However in order to achieve this one must understand whether there are common cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying all animal regeneration. We are bilaterian animals therefore biologists have been working on multiple model organisms at different evolutionary branches. For instance the free living flat worms called planaria are famous for their amazing ability to regenerate lost body parts. Identifying the key genes involved in this process may offer clues into how regeneration works in animals. Cephalization is an important characteristics in bilateral organisms including us Humans. Studying life forms that can and cannot regenerate may provide a useful comparison. For instance, although both are amphibians salamanders can regenerate but frogs cannot.
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