LA JOLLA, Calif. - Scientists have found a possible way to grow human organs and tissues using the embryo of a pig to transplant into people.
According to the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, scientists hope that this research can help in studying biology, disease and evolution as well.
A group of researchers were able to test the idea of growing functional organs in a different species by successfully growing rat organs in a developing mouse, according to their report on the journal Cell.
“Each mouse was healthy and had a normal lifespan, which indicated that the development proceeded properly,” Jun Wu, a Salk staff scientist, said in a news release.
In other experiments, scientists decided to use pigs for human organs due to similar organ sizes and developmental timescales, according to the Salk Institute.
The Salk institute also states that the successful attempt of integrating human cells in a large-animal species could lead to understanding how human diseases begin and a possible platform for drug toxicity tests.
