A research team led by Prof. Kinnert Keren and Prof. Erez Braun presented a new explanation for the rare regenerative ability of the Hydra
A study published February 7 in Cell Reports suggests that pieces of hydras have structural memory that helps them shape their new body plan according to the pattern inherited by the animal’s “skeleton.” Previously, scientists thought that only chemical signals told a hydra where its heads and/or feet should form.
see the paper in Cell Report
see more about it in The New York Times - How a Little Bit of Hydra Regrows a Whole Animal by James Gorman, The Scientist Magazine - Cytoskeletons Direct Hydra Regeneration by