5 Animals That Can Regenerate Body Parts?

    • admin@nie.com
    • Publish Date: Aug 5 2016 7:02PM
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    • Updated Date: Aug 5 2016 7:13PM
5 Animals That Can Regenerate Body Parts?
Starfish (Sea Star)

The fans of Spider-Man comics must be familiar with the scientist Curt Connors. After losing his arm in an accident, Doctor Connors devoted his life to creating a serum to regenerate lost limbs. Using DNA from lizard — who has the natural ability to regrow lost limbs — Connors created a serum that helped him regenerate his arm. Unfortunately, it had one side effect: Connors was subsequently transformed into a monstrous humanoid lizard! Granted, this is a work of fiction but biologists around the world are on a quest to decode the extraordinary regenerative powers of animals, and duplicate them in humans. Let’s take a look at the animals which are contributing in this research. 

Starfish (Sea Star)

Let’s first make one fact clear. Starfish are not fish, but rather marine invertebrates or “echinoderms” closely related to sea urchins and sand dollars. Therefore, scientists prefer to call them sea stars. And not all of them have five limbs! There are some 1,800 species of sea star living in oceans around the world. The five-arm varieties are the most common, hence their name, but species with 10, 20, and even 40 arms exist. They have such an amazing ability to regenerate that even if a starfish is left with one appendage it can easily grow back the rest provided its central nerve ring remains untouched. Though regeneration can take anywhere from several months to years, it’s still quite a feat! A fun fact: Sea stars don’t have hearts, brains or eyes.


Salamander

The salamander is a superhero of regeneration. It’s able to regenerate body parts, including their tails, upper and lower jaws, eyes and hearts. How is it possible? In a study conducted last year, researchers found out that the importance of ‘ERK pathway’ – a chain of proteins that must be constantly activated in order for the salamander to generate new body parts. According to the scientists, the constant activation of these proteins triggers the salamander’s cells — in and near the limb stump — to produce all the specialized tissues of the limb, such as muscle, nerves, and blood vessels. Scientists have discovered that in case of a limbless salamander these pathways are constantly activated till the lost appendage grows back. But in humans , the ERK pathway can only be activated briefly. 

Sea cucumber

The sea cucumber is a member of the sea star family. However, where the star fish has a simplistic shape, the sea cucumber doesn’t even look like an ordinary cucumber floating in the sea. They have a leathery skin and an elongated body that can grow up to three feet long. One unique thing about them is their weird but effective defence mechanism; when threatened, some sea cucumbers can eject their internal organs through their anus. These organs are often sticky and saturated with potentially toxic chemicals, so they serve as a deterrent to oncoming predators. The missing body parts are quickly regenerated in two to four weeks. 

Spider

If you have seen a spider missing a limb or two, don’t feel sorry for it. It is quite possible that the lost appendage is a result of fight. A spider may also amputate its legs as a defense strategy. For example, it may dropped the legs while escaping from predators that have caught onto its limbs. Spiders are able to regrow or regenerate their lost legs after a number of moults. In most species the new leg is thinner and shorter than the original leg.  It can take two or three moults until the regenerated limb matches the original in appearance. Spiders also have the ability to grow new pedipalps, mouthparts, silk spinners and more.

Snail fur 

Hydractinia echinata, also known as snail fur, is a colonial (group of interconnected and genetically identical creatures) marine organism, common along the coasts of the North Atlantic. The colony is composed of hundreds and thousands of polyps (cylindrical structure) that are interconnected by a network of gastro-vascular tubes (tubes that function in both digestion and circulation) called stolons. This animal is found growing on the shells of hermit crabs (as in the image).  It sounds gruesome, but if its head is chopped or bitten off, it simply grows another one within a few days. In a study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, researchers found that worms with regrown heads had the same memories as before. How? Well the researchers aren’t so sure, but they think that maybe their memories get stored in other cells in the body and then get imprinted into the new brain when it grows.


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Comments

Adrija De D.A.V Public School, Thane

Regenerating body parts help animals in a number of ways such as defence.Further research on such animals can help scientists to develop medicines for diseases like cancer where organs can be regenerated utilising the chemicals present in them which is responsible for regeneration.

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