Anyone who has suffered the misfortune of an amputation, and others with the imagination to conceive of such a horrible loss, might wish humans shared the famed ability of the Mexican axolotl ( Ambystoma mexicanum) to regenerate their limbs.
The axolotl is a species of salamander (lizard-like amphibians) originally found in Lake Xochimilco, near Mexico City. Sadly, they are now almost extinct in the wild. Their gene pool survives among individuals bred in captivity for the pet trade and for aquaria.
