Regenerative Medicine Content

This Snail’s Eyes Grow Back: Could They Help Humans do the Same?

Andy Fell — August 06, 2025 - 12:30pm

Human eyes are complex and irreparable, yet they are structurally like those of the freshwater apple snail, which can completely regenerate its eyes. Alice Accorsi, assistant professor of molecular and cellular biology at the University of California, Davis, studies how these snails regrow their eyes — with the goal of eventually helping to restore vision in people with eye injuries.

Using Hydra to Understand Tissue Regeneration

Andy Fell — March 06, 2023 - 9:33am

The Greek hero Heracles fought a monster called the Hydra, which grew two new heads for each one he lopped off. Heracles was lucky he wasn’t fighting something with the regenerative ability of the real Hydra, which can re-grow its entire body from a few hundred cells. This simple water animal is helping scientists explore how some animals can regrow missing body parts.

Neural Stem Cells Steered by Electric Fields in Rat Brain

Andy Fell — July 11, 2017 - 3:24pm

Electric fields can be used to guide neural stem cells transplanted into the brain toward a specific location. The research, published July 11 in the journal Stem Cell Reports, opens possibilities for effectively guiding stem cells to repair brain damage.