Impromptu Lizard Week

We're nothing if not responsive to the will of our readers, and since so many of them have reached out to us asking for more lizard-focused content in the wake of Danimal's scientific expose earlier this week, we're happy to oblige.

Wired.com's Science Graphic of the Week (we know, we know - how could we have not grabbed this concept and run with it first?) features a study recently released by researchers from Arizona State University in the online journal PLOS ONE that examines the complex genetics involved in the regeneration of an anole's tail. As you well know, since if you're reading this you're undoubtedly a lizardphile (at least one of you going so far as to tattoo a lizard on his shoulder), anoles routinely shed their tails when threatened, in a process known as autotomy.

The Arizona State study, entitled "Transcriptomic Analysis of Tail Regeneration in the Lizard Anolis carolinensis Reveals Activation of Conserved Vertebrate Developmental and Repair Mechanisms" (it's a scorcher), identifies 326 unique genes involved in the regeneration process. In and of itself, that's pretty cool. But 302 of those 326 genes have homologs, or genes that are similar to those found in mammalian DNA. 

The conclusion is so obvious as to not require any further comment.

But in case you missed it, kids at Arizona State are pretty close to being able to regenerate missing body parts, or develop unique new ones. Hazing's going to take on an entirely different aspect.