Frogs’ legs regrown in landmark experiment

Scientists have regrown the legs of frogs, helping the trailblazing amphibians to swim again, while giving hope to amputees that their limbs could one day be restored.

In a landmark experiment, researchers amputated the legs of African clawed frogs before encasing the stumps in a special silicone sleeve filled with a gel cocktail of five drugs for 24 hours.

It set in motion an 18-month period of regrowth which eventually led to the formation of almost complete and functional legs, with nearly normal bone structure and several toes.

The limbs moved and responded to touch and the frogs were able to make use of them for swimming through water, moving much like a normal frog, the scientists said.

The team now wants to test the process on mammals, with a view to eventually moving to humans if successful.

‘‘It is exciting to see that the drugs we selected were helping to create an almost complete limb,’’ said Dr Nirosha Murugan, research affiliate at the Allen Discovery Centre in Massachusetts and first author of the paper.

‘‘The fact that it required only a brief exposure to the drugs to set in motion a months-long regeneration process suggests that frogs and perhaps other animals may have dormant regenerative capabilities that can be triggered into action.’’

Many creatures have the capability of regenerating some limbs, including salamanders, starfish, crabs, and lizards. Flatworms can even be cut up into pieces, with each piece reconstructing an entire organism.

The research was published in the journal Science Advances.

– Telegraph Group