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Originally published by by Emily Packer, George Litchfield, eLife , on March 25, 2025   A necrotic Drosophila wing imaginal disc undergoing regeneration, showing NiA/NiCP (white) cells at a distance from the injury (green: GFP-labeled wing pouch cells, red: necrotic wound, white: caspase activity). Credit: Robin Harris (CC BY 4.0) Researchers have shed new light on how tissues in the body are repaired following the damage and premature death of tissue cells. Their study in fruit flies, which first appeared in eLife as a Reviewed Preprint and is now published as the final version, describes what the editors call fundamental discoveries with solid evidence for how dying (or necrotic ) cells contribute to tissue regeneration through a previously uncharacterized mechanism. It suggests that these cells play a role in signaling for the body to produce other types of cells that are involved in controlling natural cell death and inflammation , with findings that may have implica...

The sequenced genome of the brittle star revealed unique gene arrangements and provides insights into ancient genes involved in limb regeneration. Originally published at The Scientist by Sneha Khedkar, on Nov 22, 2024 As mist lingers over a Swedish fjord lined with towering, forested cliffs, a group of scientists collect mud from the bottom of the turquoise-colored waters . They’re after brittle stars —marine animals with long, slender, serpent-like arms—to peek into the genes that give them distinct characteristics, including the power of regeneration .  ABOVE: Scientists have sequenced the genome of the brittle star Amphiura filiformis . Fredrik Pleijel (University of Gothenburg) Brittle stars belong to the phylum Echinodermata, which includes sea stars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, and sea lilies. While the genomes of these other echinoderm classes have been characterized, Ferdinand Marlétaz , an evolutionary biologist at University College London , noted,...