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Discovery step toward developing treatment for various lung diseasesResearchers at the University of Minnesota have, for the first time, coaxed umbilical cord blood stem cells to differentiate into a type of lung cell.  The cord blood cells differentiated into a type of lung cell called type II alveolar cells. These cells are responsible for secreting surfactant, a substance which allows the air sacs in the lungs to remain open, allowing air to move in and out of the sacs. The cells are also responsible for helping to repair the airway after injury.  "In the future, we may be able to...

Scientists at the Genomic Research Center of the Academia Sinica announced yesterday they had proved the existence of lung stem cells, which are an important target of infection for the SARS virus. The results were published in one of this year's issues of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which publishes reports on cutting-edge research from several different scientific disciplines. The project is a joint effort of the Genomics Research Center and the Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology of Academia Sinica, the National Defense Medical Center and Taipei Medical University. John Yu (Ÿà³”Ž), the leader of the...