Using planarian flatworms to understand organ regeneration
Thursday, October 25, 2012 - 12:01
in Biology & Nature
Researchers report that they have identified genes that control growth and regeneration of the intestine in the freshwater planarian Schmidtea mediterranea. How animals repair their internal organs after injury is not well understood. Planarian flatworms are useful models for studying this question. After injury, they are able to re-grow missing body parts, as well as all as organs that are damaged or lost, such as brain, eyes, and intestine.