BPoD has moved!

BPoD has recently changed our domain name - we can now be found at bpod.org.uk

Please update your bookmarks!

Now in our 13th year of bringing you beautiful imagery from biomedical science every day

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Tomorrow's World
03 January 2015

Tomorrow's World

The science fiction-like ability of some animals like lizards and zebrafish to grow back lost body parts has long mystified scientists hoping to copy the feat to treat humans with injured limbs. Biologists studying zebrafish able to grow back severed fins – a developing fin is shown – revealed the two key steps in the hitherto mysterious process. Bone cells in the vicinity of the injury first signal to each other to reset themselves back into progenitor cells that multiply until they replace the lost fin, as if in a developing embryo. A second process then kicks-in to turn the new cells back into mature hard cells that give the fin its solid appearance. While this second step is already used to heal injured bones in patients after operations, with mixed results, future therapies could copy the whole regeneration process.

Written by Tristan Farrow

Search The Archive

Submit An Image

Follow on Tumblr

Follow on Instagram

What is BPoD?

BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

Read More

BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.