FUNCTIONING human intestine has been grown from stem cells in the laboratory, paving the way for new treatments to gut disorders.
Scientists first created tissue fragments called "organoids" that were transplanted into mice, where they matured.
Each animal produced "significant" amounts of functional human intestine.
US lead scientist Dr Michael Helmrath, from the Intestinal Rehabilitation Programme at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, said: "This provides a new way to study the many diseases and conditions that can cause intestinal failure, from genetic disorders appearing at birth to conditions that strike later in life, such as cancer and Crohn's disease."
The organoids were generated from induced pluripotent stem cells created by genetically altering adult skin cells, causing them to revert to an embryonic state.
The research is reported in the online edition of Nature Medicine journal.
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