An Old Model

Planarian flatworms have a superpower. They can regenerate missing or damaged body parts, thanks to a store of stem cells (pictured in pink) that can develop into any required cell type. Their phenomenal powers of regeneration have long tempted researchers hoping to replicate the feat in injured or unwell humans, but how much can we learn from an animal so unlike ourselves? A new study has discovered that a key part of the system called bivalency evolved much earlier than previously thought, meaning it is not exclusive to us more complex species. They found a particular combination of epigenetic modifications – features that dictate how DNA is expressed in our cells – that allows cells to be primed for any activity, which means the worms’ talents are surprisingly applicable to us. While we won’t be regrowing limbs any time soon, this will help us make better use of our own stem cells.

Written by Anthony Lewis

Anthony Lewis

Writer

Ant was the web editor in the early days of BPoD, and has since worked with the UK’s top science organisations as a writer and multimedia producer. He now splits his time between freelance work and managing multimedia at The Lancet.

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• Image from work by Anish Dattani and Damian Kao, and colleagues
• Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
• Image copyright held by the original authors
• Research published in Genome Research, August 2018