What about human limb regeneration? The researchers said their finding may help pave the way for new therapeutic approaches for birth defects and spinal cord injuries — and possibly arthritis too. Nearly all of the 326 genes pinpointed by the researchers are present in humans as well as lizards, Kusumi said.

Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with approximately over 6,000 species,^[1] ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group, traditionally recognized as the suborder Lacertilia, is defined as all extant members of the Lepidosauria (reptiles with…