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They didn't "chop up the mice", they were testing the limits of the mouse's natural regeneration abilities (ears = full, everything else = no muscle). Also, they only "hole punched their ears" so that they could see the process in action.
"Hey, I can regrow parts of my body with no scar tissue or lost function." "Okay, can you show me?" "What do you mean?" "You know, injure yourself so that I can watch your healing factor in action." "WHAT?!?! NO WAY!! I said I can do it, so you have to believe me." "That isn't how science works, so until you show me, everyone will think you are just a fraud."
That is how the science community reacts: they must see something in action, and be able to test it, in order to believe it.
If this is real, and the scientists are able to find a way to cause that kind of regrowth in other mammals via an artifical process, this would be a massive leap forward in treating everyone from burn victims to war amputees.
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