Signals in the Scars: The Search for New Ways to Predict and Treat Lung Fibrosis

Breathing is so automatic that most of us notice it only when something goes wrong. Yet every breath depends on an extraordinarily delicate structure. Inside the lungs, tiny air sacs provide a vast, thin surface across which oxygen enters the blood. When that tissue is repeatedly injured, the body's attempt to repair it can become part of the problem. Instead of restoring flexible lung tissue, repair processes may leave behind excessive scar tissue. As this fibrosis accumulates, the lungs become stiffer and less able to perform their essential task.