Lots of body parts don’t grow back when you lose them, but nails are an exception. A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) has identified a new population of nail stem cells that has the ability to “either self-renew or undergo specialization or differentiation into multiple tissues.” Researchers are hopeful that these stem cells could one day be used to generate other types of tissue and possibly repair “everything from nail and finger defects to severe skin injuries and amputations,” according to a November 21, 2014, article by Cristy Lytal provided by the University of Southern California.
Journal reference:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Abstract:http://phys.org/journals/proceedings-of-the-national-academy-of-sciences/
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