London, Mar 16: The fabled human spare parts kit may someday become a reality,thanks to scientists who claim to have discovered a gene which could allow regrowing of damaged body parts.
An international team, led by The Wistar Institute in Philadelphia, has found that the p21 gene could block the healing power still enjoyed by some creatures like amphibians, but lost through evolution to all other animals. By turning off p21, the process can be miraculously switched back on.
In their research, the scientists found that mice lacking the p21 gene gain the ability to regenerate lost or damaged tissue. Unlike typical mammals, which heal wounds by forming a scar, these animals begin by forming a blastema, a structure associated with rapid cell growth.
According to them, the loss of p21 causes the cells of these mice to behave more like regenerating embryonic stem cells rather than adult mammalian cells.