Eli5: if our bodies are able to form entire human beings from scratch, why can’t it grow back organs that have been amputated?
In: Biology
Part of the mystery of how we are formed is the turning on/off of this in our cells. People with deformities and parts that don’t grow right can be attributed in part to things not working correctly if it’s not attributed to a genetic abnormality but a physical barrier. But in essence it’s like telling cells to reproduce and form the structures by following different blueprints on how to regrow whatever it is you want.
I think the hardest part of studying this is the manner one must go about doing this… by examining growing humans. So the limitations are all going to be around the ethics of this because it’s essentially a growing human you’re now having to study in a way that could end its life and thus in steps the morals of things.
But of course there are countless species we can study this on mammals wise as the process is similar and feel less inclined to the morals of it not being people. However the difficulty is that it’s different to study a subject from when it’s just one cell vs when you’re an adult and all of that processes has been dormant since you were originally in the womb.
So instead we try and figure how creatures like starfish can grow back an arm to the same shape and function to what it lost, a rather amazing process that is absent in most higher level creatures. With the exception of certain lizards who can regrow a lost tail.
It is rather amazing and maybe if we can figure out the secret to regrowing entire organs, one could speculate that a replacement organ could be grown is a possibility. But given how long it takes for a baby to get to the size it does – one would realize that it’s not a speed process and if the need was dire, you probably couldn’t wait.
Latest Answers