Scientists Engineer Artificial Lungs

06.25.10 | FL News Team

Major gains have been made by two teams of American researchers in the development of lab-engineered lung tissue. The substance could be used to test the effects of new drugs or for future transplants. Yale University scientists implanted engineered lung tissue in rats that worked like the real organs. The tissue allowed the animals to breathe and supplied their blood with fresh oxygen. At Harvard University, researchers used human tissue and synthetic materials to develop a tiny lung device to test for toxins and for the efficacy of new drugs. Yale scientists say they eventually want to develop organs made from a person's own cells using embryonic-like stem cells.