By Matthew Nixon

What is human limb regeneration?

Did you know that there was a total of 1,715 battle oriented amputee cases that took place in the war against Iraq? Human limb regeneration will one day allow us to regrow our lost limbs and solve this dilemma.

Human limb regeneration research has been around for quite a while now. Scientists mainly study the effects of salamander limb regeneration and how this process is carried out to better understand how we as humans could possibly mimic this trait..

why is it important?
Human limb regeneration could help save the psyche's of military personal. When someone loses an arm or leg they suffer from chronic depression and phantom limb syndrome.

Chronic depression makes individuals feel worthless and pathetic. It can cause apathy towards normal everyday tasks, as well as fatigue.
Phantom limb syndrome is when an amputee patient experiences pain in the spot where their arm used to be.

How do salamanders regrow limbs? Scientific American

Muneoka, Ken, Manjong Han, and David M. Gardiner from Scientific American explain how salamanders can regrow limbs and why as humans we cannot. When a salamanders arm is removed, the cells around the wound transform into a stem-cell like state and form fibroblasts. These cells then clump together and form a group of blastemas which will form the new arm.

How do salamanders regrow limbs? Scientific American Continued

Humans actually have this ability when we are in the womb, but after birth in soon fades. Another reason humans cannot naturally regrow limbs is due to how our cells react when presented with wounds. Our cells, unlike the salamanders, continue to divide and replicate even after the wound has been closed. This is why scare issue forms.

Validity, credibility, and clarity. Scientific American

Validity and credibility This source is both valid and mostly credible. Although it is from a magazine it is backed by specific scientific research. The article was also wrote by the scientists who are preforming the scientific research.

Clarity I had to read this article several times until I fully knew what it meant. The grammar was the hardest part to understand, the authors used quite a bit of jargon. This article was meant for someone who actually knew a bit about the subject.

Validity, credibility, and clarity. Scientific American Continued

This article is one of my main sources. It is effective in showing how limb regeneration is undergone and how it could be possible one day soon. This source is the main backbones to my paper. After reading this source, I was curious to know how (when possible) the human limb regeneration treatment will be applied to the patient.

What are the Statistics? U.S. Military Casualty Statistics

Hannah Fischer allowed me to see the in-depth realization of the number of amputee patients each year from war. These are mainly cause from (IEDs) improvised explosive devices, gun fire, or shrapnel.

If we were to divvy up the total number of amputee cases in the war on Iraq. 1,179 would belong to the Army, 473 the Marines, 37 the Navy, and 26 would belong to the Air Force.
The Army is responsible for more than 69% of the total number of cases.

Validity, credibility, and clarity. U.S. Military Casualty Statistics

Validity and credibility This source comes from a federal document so it is both very valid and credible. Clarity This was by far the easiest source to read. All I had to do was to find the correct table. Other than that the statistics were very laid out and simple to understand. The audience would have been anyone conducting statistical research. I received some good and compelling data from this source. It got me thinking about other causes for amputee patients and the symptoms that a patient might go through.

The Other Side The Guardian

Helen Wallace from the guardian attempts to explain why genetics is bad and how it is harmful to the human race. Her main point in this source is that although genetic research does help a little bit. We cannot solve our issues through genetic work. Another point she makes is that humans are the way they are, mainly because of life choices. She says the reason people are obese is because of over eating and lack of exercise.

Validity, credibility, and clarity. The Guardian

The effectiveness of this source allows me to see how the other side views genetics. It keeps me from being completely biased. This way I know the perks of genetic experimentation and its downfalls. This source also made me realize that genetics is not perfect. With that said I want to seek out specific examples of the downfalls that genetic experimentation has to offer.

Validity, credibility, and clarity. The Guardian

Validity and credibility This source is somewhat valid and credibility. The author however shows some bias towards genetic research. Although there is some truth in what she says, she is only looking at it from one standpoint.

Clarity The article that goes along with the source was very easy to read and understand.

Work Cited
Fischer, Hannah. "U.S. Military Casualty Statistics." Congressional Research Service, 5 Feb. 2013. Web. 2 Oct. 2013. Muneoka, Ken, Manjong Han, and David M. Gardiner. Regrowing Limbs: Can People Regenerate Body Parts?" Scientific American (2008):15. Www.nature.com. Scientific American, 17 Mar. 2008. Web. 13 Sept. 2013. Wallace, Helen. "We Are Wrong to Use Genetic Manipulation for Future Health."Latest News, World News, Sport and Comment from the Guardian. The Guardian, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.