Doctor Who has been on and off the air for nearly 54 years, and part of the key to the show’s longevity is that the baton of its lead character can be passed from actor to actor, from the First Doctor, William Hartnell, all the way to the upcoming 13th Doctor, Jodie Whittaker. But Doctor Who goes far beyond…
If you’re counting on technology to radically extend your lifespan, you’ll want to pay close attention to what’s happening with the Greenland shark. According to a new scientific paper, this mysterious deep-sea dweller can live up to 400 years, making it the longest-lived vertebrate on Earth.
It sounds ripped out of the pages of a science fiction novel—or maybe a Lisa Frank catalog—but the genetically modified, brilliantly colored zebra fish pictured above is no fantasy. It was created by scientists, to explore one of the most elusive processes in biology: tissue regeneration.
In what sounds like a plot line from a BioShock game, a team of biologists has coaxed an animal into growing a new head and brain resembling those of a different species. The bizarre accomplishment adds to a growing body of research highlighting the importance of non-DNA factors—collectively known as the…
For years, biologists have sought to understand how the genes of planarians, a group of free-living flatworms, direct growth in specific body parts. An artificial intelligence tasked with the problem appears to have cracked the code, a breakthrough that demonstrates the incredible potential for “robot science.”
Whatever you happen to call them—crawfish, crawdads, mudbugs—crayfish are pretty tasty. They also have a pretty remarkable ability to regenerate neurons from blood cells. Understanding brain regeneration in these little crustaceans might one day help us understand how it could work in humans.
Tomorrow sees the final bow of the Eleventh Doctor, as Matt Smith regenerates into Peter Capaldi. But "The Time Of The Doctor" figures to be more than just this incarnation's last hurrah – like so many regeneration stories before it, the Christmas special is a chance to define just who this particular Doctor is, once…
Call it whatever you want—the Wolverine plastic, the Terminator material, the Doctor Who ingredient—but this new regenerating polymer is amazing.
Crabs are red alien water tarantulas who regenerate like mutants. Just look at this crab literally climb out of its old shell and toss away that used exoskeleton like it's a dirty pair of pants. So gross but so cool. I kind of wish I could shed skin like this. It'd probably be the most refreshing feeling ever.
It’s hard to let go of some memories, even if your head has been chopped off. Well, at least if you’re a flatworm. When these tiny critters are decapitated, their heads and brain eventually grow back. But more remarkable than that, so too do their previous memories.
Cut off part of an amphibian, and it'll regrow. But humans and other mammals can only regrew the very tips of our fingers and toes, if they're cut off. But the mechanism that makes that small feat happen could be the key to unlocking the secret of full limb regeneration in humans.
Frozen mosses that were buried under glaciers 400 years ago have now been regrown. Surprisingly, the hardy "bryophytes" required no special techniques to regenerate. That means they might be candidates for colonizing extreme environments — even in space.
A couple of years ago, scientists working at Wake Forest Baptist confirmed that mammalian bladders are capable of a rather unique trick. Unlike other organs, the bladder can completely regenerate itself after experiencing significant tissue loss. In fact, studies on rats showed that a bladder with as much as 75% of…
Let's face it, humans aren't too good at the whole "regenerating limbs" thing. In fact, the only way we can regrow bones is if we only lose the tip of one of our fingers or toes. But what makes that loss different to any other part of the body?
We know there are a few species that don't die of old age, like the giant tortoise and naked mole rat. But those species aren't truly immortal — as they still eventually die. These tiny worms might be a different story... one which could have major implications for humans trying to live longer.
The cool trick about stem cells is that they're super adaptable, and can become any other sort of cell, right? So why not use a mass of stem cells to regenerate a limb? Or grow an extra one? Well, it looks like it's all a bit more complicated than that. According to new research on the self-regenerating Zebrafish,…
One cell is all it takes to rebuild a complete, functioning flatworm, researchers have learned.
Imagine that you're working on a home improvement project and, being a bit of a klutz, something goes wrong: a slip of the saw and you've lost a finger. Is there any hope of regaining your lost digit?
In an important breakthrough for regenerative medicine, cells have been grown from human livers that function exactly like regular livers in a laboratory environment. It's in early stages, but this could be a huge step towards solving the transplant shortage.
A new cocktail that allows sodium ions to pour into cells makes tadpoles grow new tails. A similar one could be used to regenerate human spinal cords and lost limbs.
