Researchers discover a sea slug’s detached head can crawl around and grow a whole new body

Researchers have discovered that a sea slug’s detached head can crawl around and grow a whole new body days after being separated from its body.

Three days after the head of an Elysia cf. marginata sea slug separated from its body, the head remains active, creeping around. The body, while also still alive, is more sluggish. It eventually will die, while the head will grow a new body, heart and all.

First of all, what kind of research is this? Are there researchers just decapitating animals seeing if they can regrow bodies? The findings are neat and all, but these “researchers” need to be on some sort of watchlist. I mean, I tried conducting my own decapitation research and I was given prison time so I’m not sure what makes these “scientists” so different from me. Sure, my research was conducted in my basement with soundproof walls but science is science.

Keep going for the full video of the sea slug’s head crawling around on its own or read the whole paper here.

EDIT: On rereading the article it says the sea slugs remove their own heads, which my victi– I mean research subjects definitely weren’t doing so I stand corrected.