News Animals

Regeneration of fins and limbs relies on a shared cellular playbook

Immune cells, blood cells and repair genes act in concert across three regenerating vertebrates

A pale, elongated fish with small fins and a row of spiny dorsal finlets swims against a dark background.

The Senegal bichir (one pictured) is a living fossil, with evolutionary roots at the base of the bony fish family tree. It also can regrow entire fins, making it a good case study for understanding the origins of limb regeneration.

blickwinkel/Alamy

By Elizabeth Pennisi

This is a human-written story voiced by AI.