Researchers from Academia Sinica have solved the centuries-old question of how regenerative animals can grow back lost appendages, projecting parts of an animal that have a distinct appearance or function, by discovering “mechanical waves” in their cells.
In the study, which was published on Monday in the international journal Nature Physics, the researchers monitored the migration of cells in adult zebrafish after the tail fin was amputated, and discovered that the fish used “mechanical waves” to detect the position of wounds and help them heal.
This is the fist time “mechanical waves” have been discovered in the cells of live animals, the researchers said in a statement.
Photo courtesy of Academia Sinica
The research team, led by associate research fellow Chen Chen-hui (陳振輝) at the Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology, and associate research fellow Lin Keng-hui (林耿慧) at the Institute of Physics, said they chose to investigate the mechanism because they wanted to build on the 18th-century discovery by Italian biologist Lazzaro Spallanzani that some vertebrates have exceptional regenerative ability.
To uncover the mechanism behind the unique phenomenon, the team developed a mechanical model to explore the wound healing process of zebrafish, as well as other vertebrates, building on Spallanzani’s discoveries.
Marco P. De Leon, a doctoral student at Academia Sinica’s Taiwan International Graduate Program, said that they found that the degree of the wound affects the healing process.
The researchers also found that the traveling distance of the “mechanical waves” is proportional to the length of the tail fin.
“Although cross-field research is extremely difficult, it also brings opportunities to solve problems,” Lin said, adding that the collaboration required “unusual courage” because physicists and biologists use totally different academic languages and mindset.
“I lost count of how many meetings we held together to discuss every word we use in the study,” Chen said.
The research worked out successfully because physicists could see the principles behind complex biological phenomenons, and could design simple experiments to conduct tests and then verify the discoveries.
The study’s authors are De Leon and Wen Fu-lai (溫福來), assistant professor at National Taipei University of Education’s Department of Science Education. The research team also includes Giovanni Paylaga, Wang Ying-ting (王盈婷), Roan Hsiao-yuh (阮筱彧), Wang Chung-han (王崇翰), Hsiao Chung-der (蕭崇德), Lin Keng-hui and Chen Chen-hui.
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