Ghola mice

[Mahdi]

page A7 of the sunday Ottawa Citizen

"Miracle mouse" able to regenerate limbs, organs

LONDON (The Times)-Scientists have created a "miracle mouse" that can regenerate amputated limbs or badly damaged organs, making it able to recover from injuries that would kill or permanently disable normal animals.

The experimental animal is unique among mammals in its ability to regrow its heart, toes, joints and tail.

The researchers have also found that when cells from the test mouse are injected into ordinary mice, they, too, acquire the ability to regenerate.

The discoveries raise the prospect that humans could one day be given the ability to regenerate lost or damaged organs, opening a new era in medicine.

Details of the research will be presented next week at a scientific conference on ageing at Cambridge University. Ellen Heber-Katz of the Wistar Institute, a U.S. bio-medical research centre, says the ability of mice at her laboratory to regenerate appears to be controlled by about a dozen genes.

Ms. Heber-Katz made her discovery when she noticed that the identification holes that scientists punch in the ears of experimental mice healed without any signs of scarring.

The self-healing mice, from a strain known as MRL, were then subjected to a series of surgical procedures. In one the mice had their toes amputated, but the digits grew back, complete with joints. In another test, some of the tail was cut off but also regenerated. Then the researchers used a cryoprobe to freeze parts of the animals' hearts, only to see these grow back.

assuming they are able to take this research and apply it to humans, imagine what this would mean for many. no more need for organ transplants. possible aid for people born with serious genetic defects who might be able to re-grow new, improved organs, limbs, etc. after a transfer of "regeneration genes".

and it is not so far-fetched a possibility. the human liver is the one organ in the body which can regenerate itself. that is why liver transplants do not require the entire liver, just a portion from the donor, whose own liver will eventually regenerate all that was removed.

therefore, it seems theoretically possible to me that what a mouse may be capable of doing once the particular genetic sequence is identified and stimulated, a human should be able to do.

[Dante]

Looks good. Very good.

I wonder, could this be used to regenerate whole bodies? Not all at once of course, piece by piece. But if so, then as long as the brain can be preserved the person could significantly add to their lifespan by reducing the number of free radicals in the body (replacing organs would be especially valued). The money that could be saved in organ donation drives and treating genetic defects would be tremendous.

Of course there are problems to consider, but since this is still in the early stages, I'd say we have a lot to look forward to.

[Mahdi]

Well, the mcie regrew there hearts so they must not have died after they lost them.

[Dante]

I meant living bodies. Say someone, over a course of a lifetime, has their organs deliberately damaged or removed and then regrown, as well as their limbs. They could theoretically replace their whole body anew. Providing the stress of such a procedure wasn't harmful, this could result in greatly extended lifetime.

[Mihail]

If the mice regrew their hearts, which are as everyone obviously knows, the lifeblood of any animal, then imagine if this was passed on to humans.

Immortality, followed by overpopulation, followed by the Earth collapsing upon itself cause it was so fucking pwned by immortal people.

Of course, if this happened and people became immortal(or at least lengthened their lifespan) then it would be China's birth policies everywhere in the world.

No, doesn't sound too good.

[Mahdi]

They say that statistically, no one who si immortal could live for mor than four or five thousand years anyway. They'd inevitably be killed in some kind of accident.

[Dante]

I thought about the overpopulation thing. Easy solutions include birth control and charging for the process.

[Mahdi]

...which would cause a huge seperation of the classes and inevitable civil war, destroying most of the worlds population!  You're a genius Dante!

A very nice solution to the overpopulation problem.

[Dante]

I like to think so.

[nemafakei]

" Not all at once of course, piece by piece. But if so, then as long as the brain can be preserved the person could significantly add to their lifespan by reducing the number of free radicals in the body (replacing organs would be especially valued). The money that could be saved in organ donation drives and treating genetic defects would be tremendous."

Wouldn't work, though. If I regrew a kidney it would be as aged on the cellular level (or older if you consider that it has been through a tough process of cell division) than most of the rest of me.

It would mean we would be able to treat certain diseases with more drastic medicines, an we would increase our life expectancy, but it's like a process of photocopying - we'd eventually get to the point where it we're dying faster than we can regrow our cells and organs, and all our cells are on their last legs.

[slaphapy]

that's kind of freaky.... with the whole living almost forever type of thing.  although I'm sure there would have to be some sort of limit to when the body would stop regenerating for some reason... i mean really. it just doesnt seem likely that the body would continuously and forever regenerate itself.  does the brain regenerate? if not, then people would die because the brain would...

I'm curious if they've done any testing on nerve cells? that's about the only cell that can't regenerate. I wonder if the mice can, although not sure how you'd test it...  see if the mice goes paralyzed?...

~slap

[Acriku]

I understand that the new strand aids the mice in regenerating loss parts, but does it solve the problem of apoptosis (cell death after certain number of replications, ~50).