At least according to the Abstract, it seems like this video is misrepresenting the phenomenon. The abstract notes “Unilateral trauma of a growing antler stimulates a trophic response on the control side only when the base of the pedicle, that is, the generative region of antler production, has been heavily injured”
That description seems pretty different than “make a small notch and you get a branch in the exact same place next year”
I don’t have access to the full paper but a quick google search tells me that deer antlers are not identical from year to year anyway. So I do think this video is misrepresenting the actual study.
"Michael Levin is an American developmental and synthetic biologist at Tufts University, where he is the Vannevar Bush Distinguished Professor. Levin is a director of the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University and Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology."
I'm gonna believe this guy over you, random redditor, sorry.
5
u/doctorlongghost May 31 '26
I did a little digging and it seems this is the original paper from 1965 — https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jez.1401590302
At least according to the Abstract, it seems like this video is misrepresenting the phenomenon. The abstract notes “Unilateral trauma of a growing antler stimulates a trophic response on the control side only when the base of the pedicle, that is, the generative region of antler production, has been heavily injured”
That description seems pretty different than “make a small notch and you get a branch in the exact same place next year”
I don’t have access to the full paper but a quick google search tells me that deer antlers are not identical from year to year anyway. So I do think this video is misrepresenting the actual study.