Resurrected tissue: Mechanism that enables regeneration after extensive damage solves a 50-year-old mystery

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, our skin tissue – and indeed many types of epithelial tissues that line and cover the body’s organs – can respond to death and destruction with a surge of regeneration. This phenomenon, known as compensatory proliferation, was first described in the 1970s in fly larvae, which regained fully functional wings after their epithelial tissue was severely damaged by high-dose radiation. Since then, this surprising ability has been documented in many species, including humans, but its molecular basis remains unclear.