[stana (OP)]

Hey guys i was wondering..

If i have my leg amputated, will it regrow?

Im going to change the rules of life a little bit here, lets say this amputee lives for hundreds of years..will it regrow in that time?

[DoctorBeaver]

Nope.

[stana (OP)]

not even in a million years?

[DoctorBeaver]

Nope.

I asked a question on here a while back about broken bones & amputation

http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=4113.0

Look in particular at Chris's reply.

[stana (OP)]

ohhh i see. Thanks

[DoctorBeaver]

oops, you replied while I was editing my post.

[rosalind dna]

oops, you replied while I was editing my post.

If you break a bone then as it mends it fuses together as a few of mine done in the past. Also a broken bone that's been mended
is stronger than before or so I've heard.

But once your limb is amputated then the nerves are dead and
cannot grow again. Hope this helps a bit

[another_someone]

If you were an amphibian it would regrow, but mammals are not amphibians.

Interestingly, I have heard stories about some forms of breast cancer get the local cells so confused that they start growing teeth where no teeth should be, and people are studying this as a way of getting the mouth to regrow teeth.

It is conceivable that you could regrow limbs in humans, but you would need to switch on the genes that the embryo would use to grow its limbs.

[DoctorBeaver]

It is conceivable that you could regrow limbs in humans, but you would need to switch on the genes that the embryo would use to grow its limbs.

And switch them off again when the limb was the required size. That, to me, is 1 of the most interesting aspects of cells & growth - how do they know when to stop making you grow?

[Seany]

If you were an amphibian it would regrow, but mammals are not amphibians.

Interestingly, I have heard stories about some forms of breast cancer get the local cells so confused that they start growing teeth where no teeth should be, and people are studying this as a way of getting the mouth to regrow teeth.

It is conceivable that you could regrow limbs in humans, but you would need to switch on the genes that the embryo would use to grow its limbs.

Is a lizard an amphibian?

[Madidus_Scientia]

There was a claim not too long ago about a person regrowing a fingertip, found this on google http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8NCIHHG0&show_article=1 Not sure if its true or not

[rosalind dna]

A Lizard is reptile, a cold-blooded creature liked snakes are.

[DoctorBeaver]

Did you know that the leatherback turtle is the only warm-blooded reptile? Isn't that interesting!  []

[Andrew K Fletcher]

Think you might find some of the big crocks manage to raise their core temperature too. There is also some controversy over whether Dinosaurs were warm blooded reptiles