At first glance, snails and humans don’t seem to share many similarities. But our eyes are actually structurally akin to those of freshwater golden apple snails, a species native to South America. These snails have a spectacular ability: After an eye is amputated, they can regrow a new, functional one within about a month. The gastropods, like us, have camera-type eyes with a cornea, a lens and a retina with cells to capture light. The research team found that the apple snails and humans share several genes related to eye development; can further work with this eye-regenerating species one day help humans with eye diseases or injuries?
