"Regeneration is the process of renewal, restoration, and tissue growth that makes genomes, cells, organisms, and ecosystems resilient to natural fluctuations or events that cause disturbance or damage."
Ability of some organisms to regrow lost or damaged body parts, often through the activation of stem cells or other regenerative mechanisms.
Cell Proliferation: The process by which cells divide and multiply, leading to the growth and formation of new tissues.
Stem Cells: Cells that have the ability to differentiate into many different cell types, and are crucial to the process of regeneration.
Epigenetics: The study of changes in gene expression that occur without alterations in the underlying DNA sequence, and influence cellular differentiation and regeneration.
Signaling Pathways: Complex networks of proteins, molecules, and receptors that allow cells to communicate with each other and coordinate the process of regeneration.
Tissue-specific Factors: Proteins and other factors that are expressed in distinct tissue types, and play key roles in guiding cellular differentiation and regeneration.
Microenvironment: The local environment surrounding cells, which includes extracellular matrix, neighboring cells, and other factors that influence cell behavior and regeneration.
Injury and Inflammation: The process of injury and inflammation triggers a cascade of cellular processes that ultimately lead to tissue repair and regeneration.
Morphogenesis: The process of how organisms develop and form complex structures, including limbs and organs, through cellular differentiation and regeneration.
Bioengineering and Regenerative Medicine: The development of new technologies and medical treatments to stimulate and enhance the regenerative capabilities of cells and tissues for therapeutic purposes.
Evolutionary Biology: The study of how regeneration has evolved across different species and how this adaptability has contributed to the survival and diversity of life on earth.
Epimorphosis: It is a type of regeneration where the lost body parts are replaced by dedifferentiated cells that proliferate and differentiate into the lost tissues.
Morphallaxis: In this type of regeneration, the lost parts are replaced by a reorganization of the remaining cells, without cell proliferation.
Compensatory regeneration: This type of regeneration occurs when the remaining tissue compensates for the loss of tissue or organs caused by injury or disease.
Neoblast regeneration: This type of regeneration is found in flatworms and other invertebrates where pluripotent cells called neoblasts are responsible for regenerating lost tissues.
Salamander limb regeneration: It is one of the most studied types of regeneration, and it involves the dedifferentiation of cells at the stump of a lost limb, followed by cell proliferation and differentiation to form a new limb.
Heart regeneration: Some animals like zebrafish and axolotls can regenerate their heart tissues by dedifferentiated cells.
Fetal regeneration: It is a type of regeneration that occurs in some animals like deer and kangaroos, where the fetus can regenerate its liver or heart during the fetal stage.
Retina regeneration: In some animals, like zebrafish and some amphibians, the retina can regenerate through the proliferation of Müller glial cells.
Axon regeneration: It is the regeneration of damaged neural tissue, which involves the regrowth of axons.
Gastrointestinal tract regeneration: In some animals, like sea cucumbers and starfish, the gastrointestinal tract can regenerate through the proliferation of stem cells.
"Every species is capable of regeneration, from bacteria to humans."
"Regeneration can either be complete where the new tissue is the same as the lost tissue, or incomplete after which the necrotic tissue becomes fibrosis."
"At its most elementary level, regeneration is mediated by the molecular processes of gene regulation and involves the cellular processes of cell proliferation, morphogenesis, and cell differentiation."
"Regeneration in biology mainly refers to the morphogenic processes that characterize the phenotypic plasticity of traits allowing multi-cellular organisms to repair and maintain the integrity of their physiological and morphological states."
"Regeneration is different from reproduction. For example, hydra perform regeneration but reproduce by the method of budding."
"The hydra and the planarian flatworm have long served as model organisms for their highly adaptive regenerative capabilities."
"Once wounded, their cells become activated and restore the organs back to their pre-existing state."
"The Caudata ('urodeles'; salamanders and newts), an order of tailed amphibians, is possibly the most adept vertebrate group at regeneration, given their capability of regenerating limbs, tails, jaws, eyes, and a variety of internal structures."
"The regeneration of organs is a common and widespread adaptive capability among metazoan creatures."
"A planarian parent, for example, will constrict, split in the middle, and each half generates a new end to form two clones of the original."
"Echinoderms (such as the sea star), crayfish, many reptiles, and amphibians exhibit remarkable examples of tissue regeneration."
"The case of autotomy, for example, serves as a defensive function as the animal detaches a limb or tail to avoid capture."
"After the limb or tail has been autotomized, cells move into action and the tissues will regenerate."
"Limited regeneration of limbs occurs in most fishes and salamanders, and tail regeneration takes place in larval frogs and toads (but not adults)."
"In reptiles, chelonians, crocodilians, and snakes are unable to regenerate lost parts."
"But many (not all) kinds of lizards, geckos and iguanas possess regeneration capacity in a high degree."
"Usually, it involves dropping a section of their tail and regenerating it as part of a defense mechanism."
"In some cases, a shed limb can itself regenerate a new individual."
"While escaping a predator, if the predator catches the tail, it will disconnect."