*Editor's note: Dr. James Godwin is now a research scientist at MDI Biological Laboratory.* The story begins with the Aztec God of death and lightning, the Xolotl. As legends have it, he was a monstrous dog that guarded the sun god and ushered souls to the underworld every night. One day, as Gods began sacrificing each other for the newly created sun, Xolotl, a master transformer, managed to escape death by turning himself into a salamander. And that creature came to be known as the axolotl. Tech Insider tells you all you need to know about tech: gadgets, how-to's, gaming, science, digital culture, and more. Subscribe to our channel and visit us at: http://www.businessinsider.com/sai TI on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/techinsider TI on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tech_insider/ TI on Twitter: https://twitter.com/techinsider