RE: The entire genome of the axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) has been sequenced, and might give us details about how it regenerate lost limbs and damaged organs
In primary school, our teacher had us look after and even breed Axolotls as class pets. They were absolutely amazing to me and from that year on, I had them in a huge tank at home.
They come in plenty of colours, but my favourite was always the albino, white ones with red gills. They were almost see-through in their bellies which was amazing to look at. Handling them out of the water was also great fun, especially as kids.
They weren’t very intelligent and we had to feed them these pellets by literally holding it between a finger and thumb literally 1cm from their nose and having them snap it out of your hand.
I remember one time we woke up to an Axolotl alive and floating at the top of the tank. We waited a day and asked a vet. He said that it was constipated and we should put it in the fridge over night. Woke up the next morning and it was totally fine and healthy again 😂😂.
They’re the strangest, but coolest animals and I’m excited to hear about the scientific studies on their ability to regenerate limbs. Looking forward to seeing what human medical advancement comes from my childhood pets! 😎
This was a great read, @forexbrokr! Thanks for sharing your story and your experience with this cool animal with the rest of us :)
It sounds really strange that the vet wanted you to put it in the fridge, but I guess that might be possible with amphibians. Still it sounds like a crazy advice :P
I am also very excited to see if we can make any medical advancement from these critters, and regrowing limbs and organs could be the holy grail for some disease. Imagine if we could create a system that would grow lungs or kidneys that we could harvest and donate to those who needed it! It's still very far from reality, but I'm excited about it!
Best regards from @valth