Sea spiders can regrow body parts, not just limbs: study
The Hindu
Different types of arthropods such as centipedes, spiders, and other insects can regrow limbs after a loss.
Sea spiders can regrow body parts after amputation and not just limbs, according to a study released on Monday that may pave the way for further scientific research into regeneration.
"Nobody had expected this," said Gerhard Scholtz of Humboldt University in Berlin, senior author of the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "We were the first to show that this is possible."
It is well documented that many different types of arthropods such as centipedes, spiders, and other insects can regrow limbs after a loss.
"Crabs can even automatically get rid of their limbs if they are attacked," Scholtz said. "They replace it by a new limb."
What the researchers discovered with their experiments with the tiny eight-legged sea spiders is that they are able to regenerate body parts other than limbs.
For the study, they amputated different hind limbs and posterior parts of 23 immature and adult sea spiders and monitored the results.
There was no regeneration of body parts in the adult sea spiders but some of them are still alive two years later.