墨西哥霍奇米尔科运河区:美西钝口螈的再生蓝图
In the murky canals of Xochimilco, just south of Mexico City, lives a creature that seems to have stepped out of myth. The axolotl, a type of salamander, keeps its feathery gills and wide, ever-smiling face throughout its life. But its charm hides a biological superpower: the ability to regrow almost any body part.
Unlike most vertebrates, axolotls can regenerate entire limbs, tails, jaws, and even portions of their heart and brain. After an injury, a cluster of cells called a blastema forms at the wound, somehow ‘remembering’ how to build a perfect replacement without forming a scar. This process can happen repeatedly, and the new tissue is functional and indistinguishable from the original.
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