CINCINNATI, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- The race to treat and cure the vast range of diseases affecting the human stomach, from cancer to diabetes, has received a boost, thanks to researchers at Cincinnati Children's. In a study published this week in the journal Nature, scientists say they were able to successfully construct miniature human stomachs using stem cells.
Lab-built organs, researchers say, can help medical researchers better observe organ-specific malfunctions and potentially test remedies with more predictive and reliable results. The mini stomachs, created in the Cincinnati lab, are the first examples of three-dimensional human stomach tissue created from pluripotent stem cells -- stem cells that can be programmed to form any type of human cell.