If you were to ask 100 Average Joe’s on the street what Wolverine‘s powers are, you would likely find that the majority of people would probably say that it is his metal claws. But those of us of the more nerdy persuasion know that Logan‘s mutant power is actually his ability to heal himself almost immediately. And whilst this may still sound like something that is confined to comics and movies, it may actually be closer to reality than you may think.
A new report out of Harvard University has revealed that scientists at the school have uncovered the DNA switches in the human body that would control the genes which could allow for whole body regeneration. This is the same ability found in certain animals such as Salamanders and Geckos, both of which are known to regrow limbs.
The scientists actually discovered this ability in the common worms, a creature with the ability to regenerate entire its body after being cut in half. It was discovered in a section of ‘Non-Coding’ or Junk DNA that controls the Master Control Gene or ‘Early Growth Response’ – which effectively turns regeneration on or off.
As Dr. Mansi Srivastava, Assistant Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard explained:
“We were able to decrease the activity of this gene and we found that if you don’t have EGR (early growth response), nothing happens. The animals just can’t regenerate. All those downstream genes won’t turn on, so the other switches don’t work, and the whole house goes dark, basically.”
While being able to survive gunshots is still likely going to be confined to the comics for the time being, it is exciting to know that the lines between fantasy and reality are becoming increasingly blurred.
What do you think? Is this an exciting prospect? What superpower would you like? Let us know below.