Scientists regrow frog’s lost leg with experimental cocktail of drugs

After a 24-hour period of exposure to the drugs, a near fully-functional leg would grow in 18 months, Liam James reports

Lost legs need not be gone forever with the African clawed frog (Getty/iStock)

Frogs have been able to regrow lost legs through an experimental treatment, in what scientists say is a step towards eventual regenerative medicine in humans.

Many animals, such as salamanders, can naturally regrow limbs using stem cells. Frogs are not among them.

But scientists found they could induce the growth of a new leg after amputation on an African clawed frog by attaching a device they call a BioDome to the wound.