Mexican salamanders: the broken leg grows, the heart breaks, but is still rescued but is about to become extinct

Have you heard about this self-healing creature? Find out right before they disappear!

Mexican salamander is a very unique creature, with the ability to regenerate like Planet Namek in the "7 dragon ball " series . That is, when the leg, tail or tail is broken, part of the heart, the salamander will regenerate right away but not leave a scar!

However, this species is not immortal. It has long been . a delicious dish! However, the most remarkable thing is that its habitat is very seriously threatened.

Axolotl salamander: a symbol of Mexico

Mexican salamander (English name: axolotl) is an endemic species of Mexico - meaning that outside of this country you cannot find them anywhere else.

Mexican stories tell that, in the 13th century, the Aztecs went to Lake Texcoco and built a floating city in the middle of the lake. The salamander species also came to live in adjacent water areas very peacefully.

Texcoco Lake is said to have a more prosperous and prosperous city today.

Mexican salamanders are associated with the god Xolotl and still appear in many cultures.

Its name "axolotl" is derived from the "Xolotl" god of the Aztecs. Hearing this god has turned into a salamander to keep his life in an emergency.

Today, because it is easy to reproduce in an aquarium, salamanders are cultured in many parts of the world. Meanwhile, the less fortunate period will fly to Japan and turn into . crispy fried food!

In the aquarium, the loveliness is not for the end, but outside the destiny .

At the same time, because of its unique structure and behavior, Mexican salamanders are the favorite subjects of scientific research.

Lab's "treasure"

Early in 1863, the French moved to Paris 5 live salamanders for research.

Later, the scientist Auguste Duméril successfully propagated this species, taking it throughout Europe. This is a remarkable thing compared to the current technology, turning the salamander into one of the first "residents" to grow in the laboratory.

After nearly 2 centuries, science has discovered many interesting things about salamanders. For example, despite being an amphibian, during the breeding season, Mexican salamanders do not go ashore like its "relatives" but remain underwater. So science also calls them "mature tadpoles"!

But, the most special is still the ability to heal wounds. When the Mexican salute breaks off, it will regrow, even many times like that without affecting life.

Simulate the regeneration ability of Mexican salamanders.

This reproducibility is absolutely impossible in mammals, including humans. Because, if animals are injured, macrophages - a type of immune cell - will "eat" the dead cells and leave scars immediately.

With the Mexican salamander, it's the opposite. When cut off, a group of cells called blastema (multifunctional stem cells) will cover the wound, heal and regenerate. Also thanks to the blastema cell group, salamanders can regenerate a part of the damaged heart.

If so miraculous, why doesn't science study further and apply to human treatment? Yes! But there have been many obstacles.

Thanks to the blastema cell group, salamanders can regenerate a part of the damaged heart.

There are five first salamanders coming to France and then breeding. Because of the limited source of the original gene, the later generation of salamanders occurs in close-blood and is easy to die. A strange disease also swept through many laboratories, and killed many larvae.

However, science has also made certain progress. By early 2018, they deciphered almost completely the Mexican salamander genome - the genome is 10 times richer than human, topping the deciphered animal genome!

With this decoding, science will continue to study why salamanders have the ability to reproduce but the mouse does not (actually rats can re-grow part of the toes in a few cases). And can it interfere with the mouse genome to make it possible to regenerate it?

These questions are left out - because the amount of salamander in the lab is quite small. And between individuals living in closed rooms with the natural environment, there will be many big differences that science needs to consider.

The key to solving the problem is the natural habitat of the salamander in Mexico. So, let's go back to this country again to see what's going on.

The problem is difficult in Mexico today

In Mexico, the situation of the salamander is really tragic. If in 1998, one square kilometer of up to 6,000 live, by 2015, one square kilometer would only find an average of 35 salamanders!

There are 3 fatal causes of this tragedy.Firstly , the city population is growing too fast, the vast Texcoco lake (the natural habitat of the salamander) now turns into a dark canal with a few tiny ponds at Xochimilco - a district side. South of Mexico City!

Do you remember that Mexican salamanders are amphibians but . completely living in the water? So when the lake area becomes narrower, they are destroyed.

Xochimilco County is crowded and polluted.

The second reason is still human, although this time no one anticipates. In the 1970s and 1980s, a United Nations program released carp and tilapia into ponds around Xochimilco district. The goal is to improve the poor diet of local people, providing more protein.

However, these exotic fish species hunted small salamanders. After the above situation was discovered, the scientific community cooperating with local fishermen created shelter for salamand, trying to get fish out of there.

The third and most worrying cause - is pollution ! Just one storm swept across Mexico City, the old sewer system here was unable to manage and empty waste directly into the canal - including ammonia, heavy metals and other toxic chemicals.

But like many other amphibians, Mexican salamanders partially breathe through the skin so it is very vulnerable to pollution.

As of early 2018, while the laboratory was not happy enough to decode the genome of the salamander genus, in Mexico, the situation to help save this animal is still not in place.

You see, the Mexican salamander at first glance is strange, funny, thought to be nothing but contains too much information to improve the medical background.

Moreover, they are animals with their own lives, coexisting with humans on Earth.

Looking back from the story of the salamander in Mexico, we see that in Vietnam, there are many endemic but endangered species such as gibbons, langurs, rhinos .

Take care, update more information about them, and do small things for the environment such as stop littering, reduce the use of indiscriminate resources . before all becomes too late!