Aussie scientists create mice that can regrow severed limbs

From The Australian...

SCIENTISTS have created "miracle mice" that can regenerate amputated limbs or damaged vital organs, making them able to recover from injuries that would kill or permanently disable normal animals.

The experimental animals are unique among mammals in their ability to regrow their heart, toes, joints and tail.

And when cells from the test mouse are injected into ordinary mice, they too acquire the ability to regenerate, the US-based researchers say.

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

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this the same country that introduced rabbits into their ecosystem, an ecosystem that had few natural predators to keep the rabbit population down, thus creating a massive population that was only curtailed by introducing dogs, which eventually bred into what is today called the Dingos — which then began threatening the native marsupials which had few defenses against predators? And now they're making super mice that may be almost impossible to kill. I like Aussies and all, I think they're fairly decent people for the most part, but give me a freakin' break — don't they ever learn from their mistakes?!?

Sure we may all be like Wolverine from the X-men, capable of quick, complete healing of any wound, but that'll be small comfort as we battle the hordes of trillions of mutant, immortal mice that will be taking over the planet. Perhaps we can get Adrien Paul to convince the mice that “there can be only one”. Of course we'd need to make a bunch of tiny swords for them.

Posted by Danny Carlton at September 1, 2005 07:24 AM