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March 15, 2024

Capillary blood vessel network in the lungs

Confocal imaging reveals the dense network of capillary blood vessels in the lungs that allow oxygen to move into our bloodstream. Researchers have demonstrated that tissues within this complex vascular network can be repaired after being damaged by diseases like the flu and Covid-19 using a technique that delivers mRNA to endothelial cells (which line the blood and lymph vessels).

[Research supported by U.S. National Science Foundation grant CBET 2145491.]

Learn more in the Penn State news story Researchers breathe new life into lung repair. (Date of image: Unknown; date originally posted to NSF Multimedia Gallery: March 15, 2024)

Credit: Gan Zhao/Penn State


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