The friendly-looking axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) doesn’t seem to have much in common with its namesake, Xolotl—the Aztec god of lightning, death, and fire. In fact, axolotls can regrow lost limbs and other body parts like organs and parts of their central nervous systems—which goes against the concept of death!
Continue reading “Research Organism Superheroes: Axolotls”Tag: Regeneration
A Tale of Tails: How Reptile Regeneration Could Help Humans
“I’ve always been interested in science and in lizards. I got my first pet lizard when I was around 4 years old, and it was love at first sight,” says Thomas Lozito, Ph.D., who now studies the creatures as an assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery, stem cell biology, and regenerative medicine at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles.
During his childhood, Dr. Lozito turned his parents’ house into a “little zoo” of lizards and amphibians. He sneaked lizards into his dorm room as a college student at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering. While pursuing his Ph.D. in stem cell biology through a joint program between the National Institutes of Health and Cambridge University in England, he bred lizards and frogs and sold them to earn extra money.
Continue reading “A Tale of Tails: How Reptile Regeneration Could Help Humans”Engage Learners in Science and Health With Our Kahoots!
NIGMS, in collaboration with Scholastic, has developed a collection of free biology and health activities on the educational app Kahoot! You can play them alone, with friends, or with a class of students. Four Kahoots! are currently available:
- Imaging the Microscopic World investigates how researchers view cells, proteins, and other tiny structures.
- Superbugs delves into infectious bacteria and viruses that can’t be fought off with medicines.
- The Science of Sleep explores biological clocks and circadian rhythms.
- Regeneration highlights how animals replace or restore damaged or missing cells, tissues, organs, and even entire body parts.
Explore Our STEM Education Resources for the New School Year
If you’re looking for ways to engage students in science this school year, NIGMS offers a range of free resources that can help. All of our STEM materials are online and print-friendly, making them easy to use for remote teaching.
Pathways , developed in collaboration with Scholastic, is aligned with STEM and ELA education standards for grades 6 through 12. Materials include:
- Student magazines with corresponding teaching guides
- Related lessons with interactives
- Videos
- Vocabulary lists
Available lessons examine basic science careers, regeneration, and circadian rhythms.
Continue reading “Explore Our STEM Education Resources for the New School Year”Explore Our Virtual Learning STEM Resources
If you’re looking for engaging ways to teach science from home, NIGMS offers a range of resources that can help.
Our Science Education and Partnership Award (SEPA) webpage features free, easy-to-access STEM and informal science education projects for pre-K through grade 12. Aligned with state and national standards for STEM teaching and learning, the program has tools such as:
- Apps
- Interactives
- Online books
- Curricula and lesson plans
- Short movies
Students can learn about sleep, cells, growth, microbes, a healthy lifestyle, genetics, and many other subjects.
Continue reading “Explore Our Virtual Learning STEM Resources”Quiz Yourself to Grow What You Know About Regeneration
Regeneration is the natural process of replacing or restoring cells that have been lost or damaged due to injury or disease. A few animals can regrow entire organs or other body parts, but most have limited abilities to regenerate.
Scientists in the field of regenerative medicine study how some animals are able to rebuild lost body parts. By better understanding these processes and learning how to control them, researchers hope to develop new methods to treat injuries and diseases in people.
Take this quiz to test what you know about regeneration and regenerative medicine. Then check out our Regeneration fact sheet and the regeneration issue of Pathways, a teaching resource produced in collaboration with Scholastic.
Continue reading “Quiz Yourself to Grow What You Know About Regeneration”Pathways: The Regeneration Issue
NIGMS and Scholastic, Inc., are excited to bring you the next edition of Pathways, a collection of free resources that teaches students about basic science, its importance to human health, and exciting research careers.
Pathways is designed for grades 6 through 12. The topic of this unit is regenerative medicine, a field that focuses on restoring or healing damaged body parts so that they function normally. The long-term goal is to stimulate tissue and organs to heal themselves.
Continue reading “Pathways: The Regeneration Issue”Interview With a Scientist: Unlocking the Secrets of Animal Regeneration With Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado
Most of what we know comes from intensive study of research organisms—mice, fruit flies, worms, zebrafish, and a few others. But according to Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado, Ph.D. , a researcher at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, these research organisms represent only a tiny fraction of all animal species on the planet. Under-studied organisms could reveal important biological phenomena that simply don’t occur in the handful of models typically studied, he says.
Continue reading “Interview With a Scientist: Unlocking the Secrets of Animal Regeneration With Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado”A Scientist’s Exploration of Regeneration
In 1980, a week after his 6th birthday, Viravuth (“Voot”) Yin immigrated with his mother, grandfather, and three siblings from Cambodia to the United States. Everything they owned fit into a single, 18-inch carry-on bag. They had to build new lives from almost nothing. So, it’s perhaps fitting that Yin studies regeneration, the fascinating ability of some animals, such as salamanders, sea stars, and zebrafish, to regrow damaged body parts, essentially from scratch.
Yin’s path wasn’t always smooth. His family settled in Hartford, Connecticut, near an uncle who had been granted asylum during the Vietnam War. Yin got into a lot of trouble in school, trying to learn a new culture and fit in. Things improved when his mother moved him and his siblings to West Hartford, well known for its strong schools.
Continue reading “A Scientist’s Exploration of Regeneration”Amazing Organisms and the Lessons They Can Teach Us
What do you have in common with rodents, birds, and reptiles? A lot more than you might think. These creatures have organs and body systems very similar to our own: a skeleton, digestive tract, brain, nervous system, heart, network of blood vessels, and more. Even so-called “simple” organisms such as insects and worms use essentially the same genetic and molecular pathways we do. Studying these organisms provides a deeper understanding of human biology in health and disease, and makes possible new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat a wide range of conditions.
Historically, scientists have relied on a few key organisms, including bacteria, fruit flies, rats, and mice, to study the basic life processes that run bodily functions. In recent years, scientists have begun to add other organisms to their toolkits. Many of these newer research organisms are particularly well suited for a specific type of investigation. For example, the small, freshwater zebrafish grows quickly and has transparent embryos and see-through eggs, making it ideal for examining how organs develop. Organisms such as flatworms, salamanders, and sea urchins can regrow whole limbs, suggesting they hold clues about how to improve wound healing and tissue regeneration in humans.
Continue reading “Amazing Organisms and the Lessons They Can Teach Us”