Flatworms provide new insight into organ regeneration and the evolution of mammalian kidneys

Wednesday, August 10, 2011 - 08:30 in Biology & Nature

Our bodies are perfectly capable of renewing billions of cells every day but fail miserably when it comes to replacing damaged organs such as kidneys. Using the flatworm Schmidtea mediterranea -- famous for its capacity to regrow complete animals from minuscule flecks of tissue -- as an eloquent example, researchers have demonstrated how our distant evolutionary cousins regenerate their excretory systems from scratch.

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