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Regenerative biology

On with their heads

Nature volume 500, pages 32–33 (2013)Cite this article

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Data from three teams show that alteration of a single cell-signalling mechanism can unlock the latent head-regeneration potential in normally regeneration-deficient species of flatworm. See Letters p.73, p.77 & p.81

Voltaire was not only a leading philosopher of his time but, inspired by natural scientists, he also carried out intriguing experiments that showed that decapitated snails could regenerate their heads. On the basis of these observations, Voltaire was said to be optimistic about humans being able to do the same one day1. Although the arrival of that day is apparently not imminent, clues to how to unlock a latent potential for head regrowth are presented in three papersFootnote 1 in this issue2,3,4.

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Figure 1: Dendrocoelum lacteum.

WILLEM KOLVOORT/NATUREPL.COM

Notes

  1. *This article and the papers under discussion2,3,4 were published online on 24 July 2013.

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  1. András Simon is in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institute, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden.,

    András Simon

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  1. András Simon
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Simon, A. On with their heads. Nature 500, 32–33 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12458

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