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Over the past years, research on regenerative medicine has progressed significantly. According to scientists, the first ever set of human lungs was created in a laboratory setting. Although the lungs are far from being perfect and probably would not be used for some time, the researchers are optimistic that these lungs could potentially change medicine within the future.

For this experiment, the researchers from Galveston, Texas used the lungs from two children who had died from a car accident. Their lungs were too damaged and could not be used as transplants. For one of the lungs, the researchers removed everything from the lung, leaving only the collagen and elastin that acted as scaffolding. The team then took the cells from the other lung and placed them onto the stripped lung's scaffolding. The lung was then placed into a large, fluid-filled chamber that acted as a source of nutrition for the cells. The cells were given four weeks to grow and the end result was a human lung.

"It's so darn cool," said Joan Nichols, a researcher at the University of Texas Medical Branch reported by CNN. "It's been science fiction and we're moving into science fact."

The researchers repeated their experiment with lungs from two other children who had died. The researchers reported that the lungs look very similar to human lungs with the exception that they are pinker, softer and not as dense. Even though this step is a huge step forward, Nichols stated that creating a set of working lungs that could be used would probably take another 12 years.

Nichols added, "My students will be doing the work when I'm old and retired and can't hold a pipette anymore."