Scientists discover new hidden features of lungs

A group of researchers from the University of California, San Francisco have discovered that lungs in mice have a clandestine function; helping make blood.

Earlier this year in January, researchers had announced the discovery of a brand new organ in our bodies after it had been for long mistaken for something else entirely. Now according to a paper published in the widely-acclaimed science journal ‘Nature’; a group of researchers from UCSF has discovered that lungs produce upwards of half the platelets in our bodies, units that bind blood together ergo stopping us from bleeding out when injured.

So not only do our lungs allow us to breathe, but they also assist us with our cardiovascular system. Moreover, researchers also identified a hoard of stem cells which are programmed to turn themselves into blood cells.

Previously, Bone marrow was thought to be the primary source of such stem cells, but this new study suggests that if our bone marrow is damaged, our lungs step to compensate for it and helps keeping up with the manufacturing of regular blood cells.

Mark Looney, senior author of the study and a professor of medicine at UCSF while speaking to foreign media said, “This finding definitely suggests a more sophisticated view of the lungs – that they're not just for respiration but also a key partner in formation of crucial aspects of the blood.”

However, it’s note-worthy to mention that at this point the discovery hasn’t directly been done on humans, but on mice. Nevertheless, the biological dynamics of mice are eerily similar to that of humans explaining their use in lab experiments.

So there’s a good chance human lungs also possess the same hidden features.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2017