Worm Regenerates a Whole New Body From a Single Cell
Regenerating Flatworm This iamge shows the head region from an adult planarian (Schmidtea mediterranea). The creature was fixed 7 days after ionizing radiation treatment and contains a growing stem cell colony marked in red. Courtesy Peter ReddienThe cells could be further studied for eventual application to human therapy One cell is all it takes to rebuild a complete, functioning flatworm, researchers have learned. The animals possess a special type of cell throughout their bodies, which shares some qualities with human embryonic stem cells. If scientists can find out how this special cell works, they could someday study ways to use the cells for human tissue regeneration. The findings are the first time pluripotent stem cells have been found in an adult animal, according to researchers at MIT and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Pluripotent stem cells have a unique ability to turn into any kind of cell, which is what makes them...