An international team of scientists, led by the Wistar Institute of Sciences in Philadelphia, claims to have discovered the gene responsible for regeneration of body parts.

These scientists maintain that the function of p21 gene is to hinder the process of regrowth. Once this gene is blocked, regeneration and, thereby, healing can occur.

This study was conducted on mice. Scientists found that mice that lacked p21 gene were able to grow back tissue that was either damaged or lost.

Regeneration occurred with the formation of blastema, a structure which is associated with rapid cell growth. This was different from a typical mammalian healing process where scar tissue is formed.

It was noticed that the cells of the mice started to behave like embryonic stem cells instead of adult mammalian cells. Scientists credit this change to the lack of p21 gene in the mice.

Professor Ellen Heber-Katz, the lead scientist in the research, says, "Much like a newt that has lost a limb, these mice will replace missing or damaged tissue with healthy tissue that lacks any sign of scarring. While we are just beginning to understand the repercussions of these findings, perhaps, one day we'll be able to accelerate healing in humans by temporarily inactivating the p21 gene”.