LA JOLLA, Calif. -- La Jolla scientists are a step closer to unlocking the secrets of body-part regeneration, 10News reported.

To Salk Institute scientist Scott Stewart, the zebra fish he works with are magnificent.

"We study them because they can do what we cannot," said Stewart.

Zebra fish can re-grow a body part after losing one, and they could hold the answer to organ regeneration. If it loses a tail, it can grow back within a week with no scars.

"We have all the same genes that a zebra fish does, so I think to formally say that we have the innate ability to regenerate is probably true," said Stewart.

Stewart and researchers at the Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte laboratory have found that genes in the fish turn on and others turn off at the amputation site. Researchers are not trying to find out how to turn on the genes in humans.

The Salk Institute's studies could help military veteran Tristen Wyatt, who lost his leg while fighting in Iraq.

"You don't want to think about it because I wouldn't know what to do to have that technology available," said Wyatt.

The studies are in the preliminary stages, but Stewart said, "We can now go and look in other tissues in non-regenerating animals such as a mouse or a rat or a chicken and see do they have these same molecule handle."

If the researchers find that to be true, the zebra fish could play a large role in the future of regenerative medicine.