Severed sea cucumber appendages don't seem to die

Researchers found that severed tissues from the sea cucumber Psolus fabricii can stay alive in ordinary seawater for long periods.

Excised tube feet, tentacles, and related tissues sealed their wounds, reorganized, and in some cases returned to or exceeded their original size.

The team called these unusually durable samples LiPfe, short for living immortal P. fabricii explants.

The discovery could make P. fabricii a new model for studying tissue survival, regeneration, and bioengineering.