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Article: Learning how to grow new limbs.(research on how crustaceans regenerate lost limbs)
- Article from:
- USA TODAY
- Article date:
- June 1, 1995
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 Society for the Advancement of Education. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Growing new limbs to replace lost ones sounds like something created by Hollywood special effects wizards for science fiction movies, In the real world, humans can't grow new limbs, but some animals can. Fishermen who sell stone crabs' claws know that they can return the creatures to the ocean to grow new claws for another harvest.
Crustaceans - such as crabs, crayfish, and lobsters-are capable of creating a new limb completely from scratch. While scientists have long been intrigued by this uncanny ability little is known about the process. Working with fiddler crabs, University of Oklahoma zoologists Penny Hopkins and David Durica are trying to determine how, when a ...