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a model for studying two unique processes: the development of a complete appendage that is
delayed until puberty and mammalian organ regeneration. No other mammal can naturally
regenerate any lost organ, let alone anything as large and complex as an antler, e.g. the antlers of
a 200-kg adult red deer may weigh as much 30 kg but take only 3 months to grow. By contrast,
animals that have retained the capacity to regenerate are found in most other phyla and a variety
of these are studied by regeneration biologists. These include planaria, hydra, urodele amphibians,
Xenopus
and zebrafish (
Brockes, 1997
;
Fujisawa, 2003
;
Nye et al. 2003
;
Poss et al. 2003
;
Sanchez
Alvarado, 2003
;
Slack et al. 2004
). In fact, it has been proposed that only by studying a variety of
examples of natural regeneration can we develop our understanding
of why some animals
regenerate and others do not (
Brockes, 2004
). However, despite their obvious convenience as
experimental models, these are not mammals and although some mouse strains have been shown
to have an increased capacity for repair (
Heber-Katz et al. 2004
), they are unable to regenerate
whole organs. This is why the mechanisms that underlie antler regeneration should continue to be
investigated, notwithstanding the limitations of deer as an animal model. This argument made
most persuasively by Richard Goss, the regeneration biologist who pioneered antler research in the
late twentieth century (
Goss, 1995
). Antler research can help us
understand why regenerative
ability has been lost in mammals and take us further towards a ‘holy grail’ of modern human
medicine: the ability to regenerate organs that have been removed through trauma or excision.