A Breakthrough That Lets You Grow Extra Fingers

i09:

“Humans, birds, and other creatures share a set of genes that lead
to the development of fingers and other digits (like paws or wings),
but the way those digits form has been a mystery. Now a group of
researchers in Wisconsin have discovered the secret of digit growth,
and perhaps the key to regrowing severed or stunted fingers. It’s even
possible this research would allow you to grow an extra finger or two.
This might make working with your hands easier, or lead to strange
biopunk fashions that involve fingers sprouting from your head.

The best part is that one of the genes involved in finger-creation is called Sonic Hedgehog:

The
UW-Madison team showed that growth begins in a portion of the
developing digit they have named the phalanx-forming region (PFR). They
illustrated that phalanges, structures that later become finger or toe
bones, arise not from cartilage cells but from mesenchymal cells. And
they discovered that a complex array of signals from a variety of genes
at different times combine to form each phalanx.”

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