National Geographic

EMBARK | BREAKTHROUGHSPHOTOS: ENRIQUE PEÑALVER MOLLÁ, INSTITUTO GEOLÓGICO Y MINERO DE ESPAÑA (AMBER); TIM FLACH, COMPOSITEOF TWO IMAGES (SALAMANDER); ARTIST’S RENDERING BY NASA/CLOUDS AO (MARS ICE HOME)``````DISPATCHESFROM THE FRONT LINESOF SCIENCEAND INNOVATIONBIOLOGYSalamanders Might Hold Clues forHumans on Regrowing Body PartsA creature that can repair and regenerate limbs and organs ishelping scientists at the University of Minnesota understand whyhumans can’t do the same. The critically endangered axolotl—also known as the Mexican salamander—shares a type of cell,called a glial cell, with humans. If an axolotl hurts its spinal cord,its glial cells go to work to repair the nerve damage and fix theinjury. The same cells in humans work to form scar tissue, whichprevents nerve pathways from regenerating. Researchers hopethat grasping the underlying process of how axolotls can regrowtheir bits will one day help us regrow ours. —LORI CUTHBERTSPACEHOW TO CHILLOUT ON THERED PLANETICE HOME MAY SHIELD MARSSETTLERS FROM RADIATIONSettling on Mars? That radia-tion is a killer. To block harmfulcosmic rays while letting lightin, the protective habitatdepicted below would use ice.The plan: A shipment of MarsIce Home components wouldland and begin to deploy.A circular array of cells wouldinflate and fill with water drawnfrom Martian resources. Thatwould freeze into the radiationshield. Homes could be linkedto form an expandable base.NASA chose the project tobe part of its 2019 MISSE-11mission, which will test howwell the home’s materials holdup by attaching them to theoutside of the InternationalSpace Station. —LCBABloodsuckers Even ThenHere’s proof that ticks are trulyprehistoric pests: When scientistsfound 99-million-year-old ticksentombed in Burmese amber, one(A) was engorged with blood.Judging by a feather entangledwith another of the arachnids (B),ticks may have preyed on feath-ered dinosaurs in the Cretaceousperiod. —LORI CUTHBERT