esocid writes "Tiny wonders of the aquarium world, zebrafish can regenerate organs and tissues, including hearts, eye parts and fins. When a fin is lost, the fish regenerates a perfect copy in two weeks by orchestrating the growth of many tissue types, including bone, nerves, blood vessels, connective tissue and skin.
Scientists hope that understanding how zebrafish repair themselves will lead to new treatments for human conditions caused by damaged tissue, such as heart failure, diabetes and spinal cord injuries. Senior author of the research paper, Kenneth Poss, Ph.D., and many other cell biologists believe that mammals may have the same tissue regeneration capability as zebrafish, salamanders and newts, but that it is locked away somewhere in our genome, silenced in the course of evolution. "The key is finding a way to turn on this regenerative ability in humans," Poss said." Link to Original Source
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This brings up an interesting issue in evolution theory. If turning off these genomes improves the survival chances of the species, what happens if we manage to turn them back on?
I think zebrafish don't live very long - 5 years max?
Maybe this regen feature is incompatible with a longer lifespan. As the overall DNA quality of an organism starts to go down, it might be better for bits to disintegrate rather than regenerate into something that's "strange".
Philosophical question (Score:1)
Lifespan of zebrafish? (Score:2)
Maybe this regen feature is incompatible with a longer lifespan. As the overall DNA quality of an organism starts to go down, it might be better for bits to disintegrate rather than regenerate into something that's "strange".