Thread: Sea Stars

I have recently found out that sea stars (starfish) can regrow their limbs and that some species of starfish can cast off an arm and it will grow into a starfish. HOW awesome is that. I learnt this from this website...

http://www.susanscott.net/Oceanwatch2002/dec07-02.html

and just thought that it was a trivial fact worth knowing.

Also this kind of growth could be adopted to uses in cloning. Starfish have a much mroe basic anatomy than humans and so cloning is much easier for them however there could have some applications to cloning. Scientists are probably already looking into it (if they haven't already finished).

The reason for this post is to bring attention to this fact (if you didnt already know it) because it is stupifying and awesome. Starfish are now on my list of awesome animals.

lizards can regenerate tail and legs aswell.

most fish also can regenerate most of their body.

worms and plants can be cut in half and will still be able to reproduce/feed/etcetc. It's cool indeed

The one thing that's crucial in having a sea star regrow itself after casting off a tentacle, or having someone cut it into several pieces, is that a portion of the central disk has to still be attached. If that isn't there, then you just have part of a sea star that's dead. But the sea star that did cast off its tentacle will grow a new one in it's place because it still has the central disk.

To add to the list of amazing things that can regenerate: that's why you can take a part of a liver from a living human being and transplant it into another person. Eventually the person who received the new portion will have a liver that's just as large as the one they were born with, functioning completely.
The person who lost a portion of liver will eventually have the same amount of liver function as before, and it will be like he never lost it.