India, May 29 -- Imagine losing an arm in an accident, only to grow it back exactly as it was before, right down to the fingerprints. Such regenerative power is standard fare for comic-book superheroes (Marvel's Deadpool comes to mind) but remains firmly outside the realm of human biology. Yet in nature, there's an animal with just such superpowers - the axolotl, a curious salamander native to Mexican lakes, recognisable by its feathery red gills.

If you're fascinated by geckos dropping their tails, you will be amazed by the axolotls. These creatures can repeatedly regenerate entire limbs, hearts, lungs, and even parts of their brains and spinal cords. Biologists have long marveled at these amphibians' incredible capacity for self-renewa...