Axolotl Discovery Brings Us Closer Than Ever to Regrowing . . . Closer to the shoulder, axolotls have higher levels of retinoic acid, and lower levels of the enzyme that breaks it down This ratio changes the further the limb extends from the body The team found this balance between retinoic acid and the enzyme that breaks it down plays a crucial role in 'programming' the cluster of regenerative cells that
Glow-in-the-dark axolotls reveal a clue in the mystery of . . . Axolotls don't naturally glow in the dark — these were genetically modified to better understand how they use retinoic acid to grow lost limbs Timothy Duerr What humans can learn from axolotls
Humans Already Have the Ingredients to Regrow Limbs In the 1995 cyberpunk film Virtuosity, the genes of android villain SID 6 7 are merged with snake DNA, giving him the superhuman ability to regrow lost limbs Axolotls can do that without even
Axolotls May Hold Key to Human Limb Regeneration Translating the axolotl’s abilities to humans remains a significant challenge, potentially years away However, every discovery about the molecules, enzymes, and genes controlling regeneration in these remarkable creatures brings us closer to identifying the correct chemical signals needed to potentially activate similar processes in human cells