Abstract
Regeneration has been investigated since Aristotle, giving rise to many ways of explaining what this process is and how it works. Current research focuses on gene expression and cell signaling of regeneration within individual model organisms. We tend to look to model organisms on the reasoning that because of evolution, information gained from other species must in some respect be generalizable. However, for all that we have uncovered about how regeneration works within individual organisms, we have yet to translate what we have gleaned into achieving the goal of regenerative medicine: to harness and enhance our own regenerative abilities. Turning to history may provide a crucial perspective in advancing us toward this goal. History gives perspective, allowing us to reflect on how our predecessors did their work and what assumptions they made, thus also revealing limitations. History, then, may show us how we can move from our current reductionist thinking focused on particular selected model organisms toward generalizations about this crucial process that operates across complex living systems and move closer to repairing our own damaged bodies.
Highlights
Regeneration is a long-recognized phenomenon, dating back to Aristotle
As scientists worked on sorting out the mechanisms involved in blastema formation, a handful of biologists carried on searching for more theory-based explanations of regeneration sought by Morgan, Loeb, and Child
Researchers have made enormous progress in sorting out which genes need to be expressed, in a variety of organisms, how many and which nerves can activate the blastema, how stem cells can act as sources for new cells, and other factors that make up the complexities of regeneration
Summary
Regeneration is a long-recognized phenomenon, dating back to Aristotle. Every species maintains some capacity to regenerate, though that capacity varies drastically. As scientists worked on sorting out the mechanisms involved in blastema formation, a handful of biologists carried on searching for more theory-based explanations of regeneration sought by Morgan, Loeb, and Child Most notable in this vein is Lewis Wolpert, whose work included developing a robust understanding of how positional information within cellular systems can define spatial patterns of cellular differentiation (Wolpert, 1969). Researchers have made enormous progress in sorting out which genes need to be expressed, in a variety of organisms, how many and which nerves can activate the blastema, how stem cells can act as sources for new cells, and other factors that make up the complexities of regeneration These crucial components of the regeneration puzzle have been painstakingly wrought and detailed for a wide variety of organisms, giving us the kind of information that Morgan, Loeb, and Child lacked. The focus on wrestling these details from individual organisms has come at the expense of the generalizability that Morgan, Loeb, and Child embraced
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