Newts' ability to regenerate tissue replicated in mouse cells

ScienceDaily (2010-08-06) -- Scientists have taken a big step toward being able to confer a regenerative capacity on mammalian muscle cells; they accomplished this feat in experiments with laboratory mice in which they blocked the expression of just two tumor-suppressing proteins. The finding may move us closer to future regenerative therapies in humans -- surprisingly, by sending us shimmying back down the evolutionary tree.