Regrowth Record

Axolotls can completely regenerate a key immune organ

- Taylor Mitchell Brown

AXOLOTLS ARE FAMOUS for their ability to regrow significant parts of their bodies. But according to recent research, these frilly-headed salamanders, which are native to lakes and wetlands around Mexico City, can perform an even more extraordinary biological feat: they can completely regrow their thymus, a complex organ instrumental to the immune system in most vertebrates.

Previous work suggested that some animals can partially regrow thymuses, but the co-authors of the new paper, published in Science Immunology, were surprised to see axolotls completely rebuild the intricately structured organ from nothing.

"Axolotls are legendary for regenerating limbs and parts of the central nervous system," says study co-author Maximina H.