As a roomful of environmental scientists discussed the 100-pound “bigheaded” carp from Asia invading upper Midwestern rivers, Peter Sorensen thought about the common carp.
A century earlier, that fish had also been introduced and become invasive, causing major aquatic damage that persists to this day. (more…)
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Fish, unlike humans, can regenerate nerve connections and recover normal mobility following an injury to their spinal cord. Now, University of Missouri researchers have discovered how the sea lamprey, an eel-like fish, regrows the neurons that comprise the long nerve “highways” that link the brain to the spinal cord. Findings may guide future efforts to promote recovery in humans who have suffered spinal cord injuries.
“There is a lot of attention to why, following a spinal cord injury, neurons regenerate in lower vertebrates, such as the sea lamprey, and why they don’t in higher vertebrates, such as humans,” said Andrew McClellan, professor of biological sciences in the College of Arts and Science and director of the UM Spinal Cord Injury Research Program (SCIRP). (more…)