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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, the fish don't just form a mass of stem cells on a fin's stump to regrow the limb. Zebrafish actually use a slurry of cells, of different origins and with different purposes. Think salad, not soup. More »
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One cell is all it takes to rebuild a complete, functioning flatworm, researchers have learned. More »
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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? More »
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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. More »
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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. More »
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David Tennant's swansong on Doctor Who, "The End of Time", airs today in the UK and tomorrow night on BBC America. But how will the Tenth Doctor's finale — and his big regeneration — compare with those that came before? More »
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Implants could soon be a thing of the past. Researchers have developed a new technique to regrow breasts on pigs using their own tissue — and it's ready to be tested on human mastectomy patients. More »
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If there's one thing a rabbit needs, it's well-functioning genitalia. Scientists have successfully regrown rabbits' damaged penises, letting these rabbits do what rabbits do best. And their research could have important implications for generating human tissues as well. More »
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Three new therapies that might make their way to hospitals soon show impressive possibilities for changing the way you heal, using lasers and nanotechnology, as well as synthetic skin and superhealing nerve cells. More »
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Fifty years ago, Gordon Moore lost part of his skull in a car accident. This week, his doctors were surprised when they removed his metal plate to find his skull completely intact, a rare example of adult bone regeneration. [BBC] More »
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There are only three episodes of Doctor Who featuring David Tennant's version of the time-traveling weirdo yet to appear... but new reports suggest that those won't be the only doses of Tennant's Doctor we'll get. More »
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Doctor Who's time-traveler, The Doctor, may be the last of his kind... but he's not the only one who can regenerate. K-9, the Doctor's metal dog, will follow suit in his new show. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5169712&view=rss&microfeed=true According to news reports, we'll finally learn who's stepping into the dapper threads of David Tennant as the star of the BBC's time-traveling action-soap-dramedy Doctor Who tomorrow. Whoever it is will take over early in 2010, after the last of the four one-off specials Tennant is starring in. So today is your last chance for rumor-mongering and baseless speculation. Next up: after the leather jacket and suit-with-trainers looks, what will the next Doctor sport? [Guardian] More »
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When it comes to regneration, the salamander is nature's gold standard. Scientists have studied the animals for years trying to figure out how they regrow tails, legs, and even eyes, but despite a few baby steps, they've made little progress. Now a new raft of technologies promises to catapult human healing power into the same league as the amphibians. More »
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A few weeks ago, we told you about the guy who regrew his finger using some "pig powder" that his biologist brother supplied him with. It sounded vaguely made-up, but it turns out the U.S. government took the pig powder stories very seriously indeed. As CNN reported today (see clip), the military is pouring millions of dollars into experiments with the substance. It's being used on soldiers who have lost fingers — and perhaps other limbs, later — in the hope that it will fool stem cells into creating new body parts for people who have lost them in accidents. Here you can see a pretty gory shot of the operation used to insert the pig dust into a man's finger stump. Apparently it will only take weeks to regrow. We'll keep you posted on whether that actually works out. More »
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Lee Spievak regrew his fingers from powdered big bladders. While tinkering with his model airplane two years ago, Spievak accidently sliced a half inch off of the middle finger on his right hand — nail and all — in the propeller. Doctors told him he'd never get it back, but his brother Alan sent him some powder derived from a pig bladder. Spievak rubbed the powder on the stub every day for a month and the finger grew back. In four months, the nail was also back, fully formed (pictured). Find out how below. More »
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Could the Master be the new Doctor? That's what one newspaper is claiming. John Simm, who danced rings around David Tennant as the psycho arch-villain, is the "hot favorite" to play the Doctor when Tennant leaves. But it's unclear how the show could get around the fact that we saw Simm's body being cremated: More »
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