By Josie June 22nd, 2023
The Axolotl’s incredible regenerative abilities has the potential to cause breakthroughs in medical research.
The Axolotl has slender body with feathery external gills and four limbs with delicate digits.
It is native to Xochimilco, Mexico, and lives in freshwater lakes and ponds.
It feeds on small aquatic invertebrates, and is in turn preyed upon by fish, birds, larger amphibians
When an axolotl sustains an injury or loses a limb it initiates a complex regenerative process that enables it to regrow the lost body part.
The regeneration process begins with a structure called the blastema at the site of the injury.
The blastema is a mass of dedifferentiated cells that can develop into various tissues.
For example, if an axolotl loses part of its heart, it can regenerate the missing tissue and restore its cardiac function.
Their ability to regrow limbs could provide insights into stimulating limb regeneration in humans, helping those who have suffered amputations or traumatic injuries.
It would be instrumental for spinal cord injuries, heart diseases, and neurodegenerative conditions.
Throughout their lives they keep their juvenile traits, including external gills, a finned tail, and a lack of eyelids.
They have a keen sense of smell and can even sense weak electric fields generated by living organisms.