Chinese Scientists Grow “Mini Antlers” on Mice Using Stem Cells from Sika Deer

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The researchers say their findings could lead to new treatments for bone injuries and might even give rise to clinical limb regeneration

BY TRAVIS HALL | PUBLISHED MAR 8, 2023 3:10 PM EST

 

Deer antlers are among the fastest-growing appendages in the Animal Kingdom. Growing as fast as 3/4 of an inch per day during the peak spring growing cycle, cervid headgear can develop fully in just a few short months. Scientists at Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi’an, China have been looking for ways to harness the rapid growth rate of antler tissue by implanting stem cells from Sika deer antlers into the foreheads of lab mice. Their experiments have yielded some bizarre-looking rodents with small outgrowths on their heads that the journal Nature referred to as “mini antlers.” According to a research paper published on February 24, 2023, the results could one day be adapted to heal bone injuries and regrow lost limbs.

 

For the rest: https://www.fieldandstream.com/conservation/scientists-grow-antlers-mice-stem-cells/