The animal that rebuilds itself whole

The axolotl, a Mexican amphibian with a smiling face, has a superpower that science has been studying for decades: it regenerates almost entirely.

If it loses a leg, a whole new one grows back, with its bones, muscles and nerves in exactly the right place. And it doesn't stop there: it can rebuild parts of its heart, its spinal cord and even its brain, all without leaving a scar.

That is why laboratories study it so closely: understanding how it does this could one day help human medicine. Paradoxically, this animal so resilient in the lab is in grave danger of extinction in the wild, cornered in the canals of Mexico City.

Source: National Geographic