Animals, in many ways, are the closest thing we have to real-life superheroes.
An octopus, for example, has an incredible ability to change its colors as a form of camouflage, helping them escape detection from hungry predators.
With their stealth, hunting skills and ability to leap tall countertops in a single bound, cats remind us of superheroes, too.
But the superpowers of the animal world don’t stop there—some animals such as lizards and starfish can regenerate entire limbs or tails.
Others have superior senses of hearing, smell and vision that rival the powers of Superman himself.
In the world of fiction, there’s a reason that many our favorite comic book characters—from Spiderman to Catwoman to Black Panther have powers that come from the animals they’re named after.
In the world of research, finding ways to help humans mimic some of these animal superpowers could help scientists solve some of medicine’s biggest mysteries.
So stay tuned, true believers! Below, we highlight five fascinating ways that researchers at Mass General Brigham are working to adapt animal superpowers to advance human health.
This Frog's Super Cool Way of Surviving the Winter
The wood frog has a unique animal superpower that allows it to survive cold winter temperatures.
When the temperatures drop, the frog produces an antifreeze-like substance that protects its cells from freezing solid while it enters a state of hibernation.
When the warm weather returns in the spring, the frog’s metabolic function returns and it resumes its normal frog business.
Scientists at Mass General Brigham and colleagues are hoping to replicate this process of "supercooling without freezing" in the lab to better preserve transplantable organs until they can reach their recipients.
Freezing the organs outright causes damage from ice crystals, and current cryopreservation agents are too toxic to keep the organs viable.
If researchers can devise a method for preserving organs that mirrors what the wood frog does, this could make many more organs available for transplant. Read more.
How Tardigrades Keep Radiation Rays at Bay
Radiation therapy is one of the most common treatments for cancer, but it often comes with a long list of side effects, such as nausea and skin or tissue damage, making the experience challenging for many patients.
Drawing inspiration from a tiny organism that can withstand huge amounts of radiation, researchers at MIT, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the University of Iowa have developed a new strategy that may protect patients from this kind of damage.
Their approach makes use of a protein from tardigrades, often also called “water bears,” which are eight legged creatures less than a millimeter in length that are commonly found in mosses, lichens and aquatic habitats.
When the researchers injected messenger RNA encoding this protein into mice, they found that it generated enough protein to protect the cells’ DNA from radiation-induced damage.
If developed for use in humans, therapies that incorporate this protective protein could reduce the side effects of radiation treatment and improve the quality of life for cancer patients. Read more.
This Fish's Amazing Ability to Regenerate Tendons
While human tendons will heal after tearing, the healing process is imperfect with scar tissue often replacing the original, high functioning matrix of tendon tissue.
In almost all cases the mechanical properties of the original tendon are never fully restored and there’s a greater risk of re-injury.
Zebrafish — small freshwater fish native to India and parts of Asia — have a lot of genetic similarities to humans and are commonly used as a modeling system in medical research.
Unlike humans, however, zebrafish have the remarkable ability to completely regenerate their tendons after tears.
Mass General Brigham researchers have been studying this process to find ways to help human tendons heal better. Read more.
How Bat Immune Systems Combat Deadly Viruses
Despite their reputation as the spreaders of diseases, bats have a surprisingly powerful immune system that allows them to carry many viruses that would be deadly to humans (such as Ebola) without getting sick.
Researchers at the Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, Harvard and MIT are studying how the bat’s adaptive immune system is able to control these aggressive viruses.
Insights from these studies could lead to new strategies to help human patients with viral infections, understand how the body responds to infections, and find ways to moderate immune responses. Read more.
How Squids Squirt Ink with Precision and Power
When threatened by predators, squids squirt out a powerful stream of ink that disperses in the water and provides a cloud of camouflage for them to escape in.
You might be wondering how this mechanism could be useful in medicine. Well, it actually inspired the creation of a self-operating, needle-free system for delivering drugs.
Needles are commonly used to deliver injectable medications, but patients have to be trained to administer these drugs, and the used needles have to be safely disposed of in a sharps container.
A self-operating, needle-free system that can deliver drugs directly to the target site could reduce the need for needles and improve the patient experience.
Inspired by the squid, investigators at Mass General Brigham, along with colleagues at MIT and Novo Nordisk, developed a family of microjet delivery (MiDe) systems that discharge liquid drugs in a precise, powerful stream directly into the gastrointestinal tract without the need for needles.
With more research and development, this liquid-based delivery system could be an appealing alternative to needles for patients taking injectable drugs. Read more.
Research at Mass General Brigham
At Mass General Brigham, research isn’t just about discovery—it’s about transforming patient care worldwide.
With a community of more than 3,700 Principal Investigators and 16,000 scientists, we are pioneering discoveries in fields ranging from AI and gene therapy to cancer, neuroscience, and global health.
Through collaboration, innovation, and a relentless pursuit of knowledge, we turn groundbreaking ideas into real-world impact. Follow us for the latest research insights, clinical advancements, and stories of discovery from across Mass General Brigham.
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