Wednesday, April 25, 2018

10 Times the Human With a Smile


           The axolotl, a smiling Mexican amphibian, is the largest genome ever sequenced. It has 32 billion base pairs, ten times the size of human genome. The axolotl has been bred and studied in laboratories for over 150 years and is endangered in the wild. The axolotl is an extremely interesting organism: it regenerates damaged organs, regrows amputated limbs with all bones, muscles, and nerves, and even heals wounds without scar tissue. The amazing thing about its ability to heal and regrow is that it will do so with the new organs or limbs functioning just like they did before. For example, a crushed spinal cord can function again normally like it was never crushed. This animal was the first salamander genome to ever be sequenced. It took so long to be done because it has many repetitive parts in its genome. This genome sequencing is just the beginning of their studies, but a huge advance in science because it has the potential to answer many questions. The genes involved in regeneration are being identified and studied. 

summarized article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/01/science/axolotl-genes-limbs.html

original scientific study:
https://www.nature.com/articles/nature25458


5 comments:

  1. wow this is really fasinating that this amphibian can basically regenerate any part of his body. I wonder if there is a limit to its healing abilities whether there is a certain amount of damage it can sustain before it cant recover it self. Also what if there was a way to inplant the gene code into patients that have been badly injure to aid there recovery

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  2. I really enjoyed reading about this amphibian. The was it is able to heal itself without scar tissue and regain full function is awesome. It is hard to believe(and very cool) that it is able to regenerate bones, organs and even nerves.

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  3. This article is pretty cool, considering the amphibian has the ability to regenerate damaged organs, regrow amputated limbs, and heal scar tissue. This study would be very beneficial if humans had this ability. Maybe in the future, scientists and researchers may discover ways to help benefit humans with such dysfunctions.

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  4. Wow thats crazy, this may possibly have far reaching impacts in the medical field. Particularly in paralysis patients.

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  5. Species like this are such a wonder to the world. Being able to figure out how this creature is able to regenerate damages and apply it to medicine to help people heal faster would be a huge accomplishment

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