China has successfully regenerated and duplicated gastrointestinal organs by culturing stem cells -- another breakthrough in the study of human organ duplication.

The achievement, following skin regeneration, may prove to be a valuable way of treating gastrointestinal diseases via regenerating gastric and intestinal mucosa tissues, according to Monday's China Daily.

Professor Xu Rongxiang, a famous expert in burns treatment, announced his new development Sunday in Beijing.

Xu and his team first cultured mouse gastric intestinal tissue in a culture fluid which contained Gastro-intestinal Capsules (GIC), a material used to stimulate stem cells, which further divided into specialized cells.

Xu said that after 18 days, cloned cells had multiplied and had grown quite well.

The research confirmed that GIC can actively improve the regeneration and replication of gastric-intestine mucosa and help repair mucosa tissue.

The technology has already been put into use. A medicine that aims to protect mucus and insure the physiological functions of mucosa will soon be on the market.

Meanwhile, technology to treat gastric and intestinal ulcers is under clinical study.

Xu said that the study of organ duplication is a promising field of life science in the 21st century.

(Xinhua News Agency November 19, 2001)