Do you guys remember this movie?? And do you remember Dr. Curt Connors? The scientist who tried to regrow his arm by combining lizard and human genes, "surprisingly" turning into an evil lizard villain?
Well what I want to talk to you guys about today is not that you should watch the movie, but about one of the many amazing things our brain can do, pathfinding by axons. You may be thinking oh come on this is just a movie, but the concept that leads Dr. Connors to try this "serum" is the regenerative ability of axons to find specific pathways to their original connections. Now I am not saying that it is possible in humans (yet??), but that this is true in some amphibians, (salamanders, newts...) and lizards (tails).
How does regeneration work?
Well in a salamander if you cut off a limb the wound will eventually close and regenerate new cells, bone, and muscle. The first thing is new cells being regenerated, join to
form what can be referred to as the wound epidermis relaying
messages for nerves to regenerate. After the amputation, many groups of stem
cells join at the wound creating what is called a blastema.
 |
<------- A=mass of cells
B=epidermis
C=nerve cells
The reason that salamanders are able to regenerate limbs are because they can generate new axon branches at the new limb and are able find the correct muscle to respond to. The axons are therefore able to find their way to the correct target.
This video below shows a great summary of how regeneration of limbs in salamanders occurs and how they differ from us.
What about in humans?
Obviously this works in some animals, but what about us? When we get a cut our body quickly adds on new cells patching up the wound creating scar tissue which helps stop blood loss and prevents infections however, it is the scar tissue that prevents us from regenerating. Scar tissue is dead tissue which unlike the blastema will not divide and multiply to reform the limb. It is not easy, but scientists are working to find new and innovative ways, one of which is using the patient's own cells to grow new tissue in a scaffold stimulating natural healing rather than scar tissue.I turns out Dr. Connors wasn't so crazy after all, if you can get over him turning into a lizard mad-scientist guy.
References:
Kalat, J. (2012). Biological psychology. Cengage Learning.
http://www.blastr.com/2012/07/researchers_say_the_scien.php
http://www.blastr.com/2012/07/researchers_say_the_scien.php
I enjoyed this blog entry, I liked how you compared the Spider movie to the topic, it gives the reader a way to understand the topic. I like how you stated, "Obviously this works in some animals, but what about us? When we get a cut our body quickly adds on new cells patching up the wound creating scar tissue which helps stop blood loss and prevents infections however, it is the scar tissue that prevents us from regenerating. Scar tissue is dead tissue which unlike the blastema will not divide and multiply to reform the limb. It is not easy, but scientists are working to find new and innovative ways, one of which is using the patient's own cells to grow new tissue in a scaffold stimulating natural healing rather than scar tissue.
ReplyDeleteI turns out Dr. Connors wasn't so crazy after all, if you can get over him turning into a lizard mad-scientist guy."
Hi there. I found your blog really interesting. I liked how you compared The Spiderman movie to how salamanders regenerate limbs. I had no idea they were capable of doing that. It is very amazing how the axon branches know exactly what is needed. If it was a leg or an arm that was amputated and needs to regenerate, they know exactly what to do. I really wish that it would work the same with us humans. It would be so helpful and awesome for our cells to regenerate arms or legs. People who suffer accidents or how serve in the military that suffer from extremity losses would not have to worry. But instead of that we get scars. Hopefully scientists discover a way for us to regenerate limbs and arms in the future. It would be really cool.
ReplyDeleteIt is crazy yet super cool how some amphibians can regenerate a limb, I can only imagine how great and revolutionizing it would be for humans to undergo the same process, at the same time I can see how difficult this can be for scientists to accomplish. Your comparison with Dr. Curt Connors really made your topic even more appealing. Even though I haven't even watched that movie, I could definitely relate your topic to his character based on your description and images. Your video was great in explaining how we differ from salamanders and what enables them to regenerate
ReplyDeleteWow, that was all very interesting. Ever since I was a kid I have always been fascinated about how lizards and such can grow their tails back. It's just as fascinating to learn the biology behind it and how the true magic is done. I do hope that one day that doctors and scientists truly find a way to make regeneration of limbs a reality. I think that would be a historic moment and would be a wonder to see. Overall great read!
ReplyDelete