Their goal is to help the 2.1 million people in the United States living with limb loss, a population expected to more than triple by the year 2060 because of the increase in vascular diseases such as diabetes.

Unlike some popular animals like the axolotl, a type of salamander that can regrow lost limbs, humans can only regrow the very tips of their fingers—and only under certain circumstances.

But now, researchers at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) have discovered a fibroblast growth factor (FGF)—a type of protein—capable of regenerating an entire finger joint, including articular cartilage, tendons and ligaments.