Lung

Even moderate exposure to nicotine-free vapor from e-cigarettes can literally stop the body's frontline immune cells in their tracks, reducing their ability to fight off foreign invaders, a new study has found.

Researchers have discovered that lung-based immune cells can be "trained" to remember a previously encountered pathogen, making them more efficient at clearing out the cellular debris that accumulates during infection and reducing inflammation.

A group of US and Canadian anesthesiologists has sounded the alarm on the new class of weight-loss drugs, this time warning that they can increase the risk of serious complications for patients under sedation on the operating table.

A new study suggests that people with low levels of vitamin K in their blood are more likely to have reduced lung function and to report lung problems like asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or wheezing.

Researchers have developed an inhalable drug that targets the overactive white blood cells that cause lung damage during severe infection. With clinical trials due next year, it may soon be a novel treatment for COVID complications and pneumonia.

Researchers have built a lung in a lab that more accurately emulates the human lung than traditional models, opening the door to the fast-tracking of the discovery and development of drugs and a reduction in our reliance on animals for testing.

The standard for storing lungs for transplant procedures has been to pack them in ice in coolers and rush them to the surgery site. But researchers have found that a warmer temperature can dramatically improve the time during which they stay viable.

Developing effective treatments for genetic lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis has proven challenging. That might not be the case for much longer, with scientists developing a new type of nanoparticle that can carry gene-editing technology directly into the lungs of mice.

Humans have bitter taste receptors not only in their mouths but in their lungs, too. Researchers have exploited these receptors’ innate ability to dilate the airways to create a potent new drug that may change how we treat diseases like asthma and COPD.

If there's one thing that the past few years have made us of aware of, it's the danger of respiratory viruses. An inhalable powder may one day help temporarily protect against them, by working with the natural layer of mucus in users' lungs.

A case study has tracked, for the first time, the movement of antibiotic-resistant bacteria from a patient's gut microbiome to their lungs. The research presents the first direct evidence of this transmission pathway taking place in hospital patients.

It's assumed that as we get older our health will deteriorate. Our bodies age, wrinkles form, metabolism slows, and our immune system weakens. But how much of what we consider to simply be natural aging is actually due to preventable environmental factors?