Australian Scientists Grow Replica Human Lungs and Call for End to Animal Testing
In a groundbreaking achievement, Australian scientists have successfully grown replica human lungs in a major step toward eliminating the need for animal testing in medical research. This remarkable breakthrough has the potential to revolutionize the field of medical science and heralds a new era of ethical experimentation. The researchers behind this technology, Professor Wojciech Chrzanowski and PhD student Thanh Huyen Phan, both from the University of Sydney Nano Institute, hope that their findings will lead to a revolution in medical research and a greater focus on ethical, non-animal testing methods.
Traditionally, animal testing has been a key component of medical research, with scientists relying on animals to study the effects of drugs, chemicals, and treatments before they can be deemed safe for human use. However, this practice has long been a subject of ethical controversy due to concerns about animal welfare and the questionable relevance of animal results to human physiology.
The newly grown replica human lungs offer a remarkable alternative. They have been meticulously engineered using a combination of biological scaffolding, stem cells, and advanced 3D printing techniques. The resulting synthetic lungs accurately mimic the intricate structure and functionality of human lungs, providing an unparalleled model for studying respiratory diseases, drug interactions, and potential treatments. At just a few millimetres wide, the “lungs” have little resemblance to those of humans. They are contained in a plastic tube, and when you look into the tube from above, the lungs resemble a small blob of jelly spread across a thin membrane.
"These plastic cages are put in an incubator where the lungs are constantly and meticulously checked.
We require confirmation that the lungs are mature and developed enough to undergo tests. In order to monitor the bioelectrical impulses of the lungs, we created what we like to refer to as a "smart lead" containing electrodes that lies permanently above the lung models." Chrzanowski said.
These model lungs nevertheless have limitations despite their potential advantages. For instance, because the model lungs cannot duplicate how human organs are interrelated, it is currently difficult to investigate how the entire body reacts to medications or treatments. Chrzanowski concedes that it will likely be at least five more years before model lungs are widely used in research, and maybe decades for more sophisticated advancements. However, the successful development of artificial human lungs is an important step toward a more moral and accurate method of doing medical research.