Camila Mota

So the bioreactor was the little cup-like thing, you know, it looks like a little plastic thimble.

They put a silk-based gel loaded with a drug cocktail at the bottom of it and attached it to the frog stump as soon as the limb was amputated.

Just 24 hours.

It was held in place for just 24 hours and then removed.

After that, instead of producing scar tissue, the stump started to slowly regenerate over the course of 18 months.

And the drug cocktail I mentioned is key here.

It was five different drugs, and each one of them had a different purpose.

So one was aimed at reducing inflammation.

Another inhibited the production of the collagen that it would lead to scarring.

Another one fostered the growth of new blood vessels, muscles, bones, etc., etc.

Gosh, and did the leg look normal when it did grow back?

Pretty much.

In the majority of frogs exposed to the treatment, you know, the new leg had blood vessels, nerve fibers, muscles, and bone structure similar to their other legs, and even toes, even though they were not supported by bones.

But that didn't prevent the regrown limb from moving, so frogs were able to swim around in the tank like a normal frog would.

Yeah, that's the idea.

You know, a lot of people lose limbs because of diabetes.

Right.

And a number of other diseases.

And yeah, you know, and the recipe for making every part of our body is encoded in our DNA.

Right.