A good starting head for any scientist in any field of operations is to recognize that there ’s a lot that we do n’t know . We do n’t know , for representative , why there is more issue than antimatter in the macrocosm . We do n’t sleep with quite how the phylogeny of thedinosaurspanned out . And , perhaps most surprisingly of all , we do n’t bed quite how many organ the human consistence has or what all their functions are .
This January , researchers have announce that abrand new organhad been discovered in our bodies after it had long been mistaken for something else . Now , writing in the journalNature , a mathematical group of research worker from the University of California , San Francisco ( UCSF ) , have find out that the lungs in mice have a hidden characteristic too – they help make descent .
Specifically , it appears the lungs create over one-half of theplatelets – the components that bind blood together to stop us bleed out when we ’re wounded – involved in circulation .
So not only do our breathing bags permit us to take a breath , but they also help keep our cardiovascular system full to the brim . Well that ’s rather endearing of them .
That ’s not all . The investigator also managed to name a cache of stem cells – the type that can differentiate into almost any cell type with the right biologic programming – that can transform themselves into parentage cell .
osseous tissue marrow is thought to be the chief source of such stem cellular telephone , so this Modern divine revelation suggest that if our osseous tissue center is damaged and unable to keep up with its unconstipated blood cubicle fabrication , our lungs can mistreat in to make up for the shortfall .
“ This determination unquestionably suggests a more sophisticated view of the lungs – that they ’re not just for cellular respiration but also a key partner in geological formation of crucial aspects of the blood , ” senior source Mark Looney , a professor of medicament at UCSF , said in astatement .
A small caveat worth mentioning at this point is that this has n’t been directly imaged in human race , but mice . Nevertheless , the biologic working of these small critter is astonishingly similar to that of humans , which is part of the grounds why they ’re used in so many medical - theme studies – so there ’s a well chance human lungs also possess the same out of sight features .
Using a remarkable proficiency allowing the platelets to fluoresce , the squad were able-bodied to direct trace the path of the mousey platelets , and find they were coming from within the lung . The megakaryocytes – the platelet - bring out cells – are also seen moving back and forth between the lungs and the off-white marrow , calculate on where they are needed the most .
“ Perhaps ‘ studying afield ’ in different organs is a normal part of stem electric cell teaching , ” Looney added .
