Feature

Starting Anew

Scientists turn to lowly creatures to unlock the secrets of regeneration

By Susan Gaidos

- More than 2 years ago

It could have been a scene from a sequel to Jurassic Park: Peering down at the tiny worms wriggling under the lens of her microscope, biologist Alexandra Bely witnessed a performance that hadn’t been played in nature in millions of years. The beastie was sprouting a second head.

PATHWAY TO REGENERATION A team found that tweaking the activity in the hedgehog signaling pathway in a planarian could lead to incomplete tail development (left) or a tail at each end (right).