When Sophia Lorenzana took an ornithology class at UNLV as an undergraduate student, she never imagined it would spark a love for one of the area’s most underrated natural resources: Wetlands Park.

Maybe you have ordered an at-home microbiome test and waited on a report full of unfamiliar bacteria names. Maybe you are just watching friends compare their results. Either way, the gut has become something people study rather than ignore. That attention raises a fair question about which foods and compounds genuinely help. The latest contender is one that nutritionists spent years telling you to limit.

Dr. Kelly Tseng a professor in the School Of Life Sciences at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, discusses how discovering the method in which frogs are able to regenerate eye tissue could lead to finding out how to replicate the process in humans.

Research suggests that phytic acid, a natural compound present in plant-based foods such as beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, plays a critical role in maintaining the integrity of the intestinal barrier.

Regeneration has long been the stuff of science fiction. At UNLV, researchers are now studying frogs that can regrow their eyes in days — work that could bring that idea closer to reality for human patients.

Regeneration has long been the stuff of science fiction. At UNLV, researchers are now studying frogs that can regrow their eyes in days — work that could bring that idea closer to reality for human patients.