A team of researchers announced Friday that they've succeeded for the first time in the history of medicine to turn (in the lab) embryonic stem cells into a type of cell that can give rise to several internal organs, including the pancreas, liver and lungs.

With this discovery, the researchers believe they will be able to obtain different types of cells in the human body, which could be used to regenerate other organs, like the brain or the heart. The difficult part of the process is determining the precise combination of chemical compounds needed to trigger the stem cells to become a specific cell type.

Now, Emmanuel Baetge of CyThera Inc., in San Diego, and colleagues report in the December issue of Nature Biotechnology they have figured out a key piece of that puzzle and come up with a mix that spurs the stem cells to develop into endoderm, a layer found in developing embryos that gives rise to the thyroid, thymus, lungs, liver, pancreas and the lining of the respiratory and digestive tracts.

Aside from the therapeutic applications, this discovery will also have a crucial role in the development of new drugs and in the understanding of human development, Baetge said.