The deer is the only species among mammals that has the ability to completely regenerate a body part—such as their antlers. Professor Joanna Price from the Royal Veterinary College in the UK states that antlers are large structures made of bone that grow gradually over time.
This body part can regrow fully in about 3-4 months, and at that rate, it becomes the fastest-growing living tissue. After reaching maximum size, the antler bone begins to harden, and the soft, dark skin covering it gradually sheds.
Once the skin has completely fallen off, only the bone remains, transforming it into a sharp weapon for fights. Typically, at the end of the deer mating season, the antlers will naturally shed to conserve energy.
Come the following spring, a new pair of antlers will sprout from the bony tissue emerging from the top of the animal’s head.
Professor Joanna Price and her research team speculate that stem cells—the type of cells capable of differentiating into various specialized tissue forms—are at the core of this regeneration process. This is regulated by several signaling types, possibly determined by hormones like estrogen and testosterone.
NGUYEN SINH
