Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, our skin tissue—and in fact many types of epithelial tissue that lines and covers the body's organs—can respond to death and destruction with a burst of regeneration. This phenomenon, known as compensatory proliferation, was first described in the 1970s in f ly larvae, which regrew fully functional wings after their epithelial tissue had been severely damaged by high-dose radiation. Since then, this surprising ability has been documented in many species, including humans, yet its molecular basis has remained unclear. ...read more read less