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The science behind creating viable organs in the laboratory to be used as transplants for patients who need them is complex. For years, scientists have tried recreating human organs using different techniques. Although some cases have yielded promising results, genetically developing organs has not been fully successful. However, according to U.S. scientists, creating an artificial human ear could be the next success story in this line of research.

Researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston reported that they have gotten one step further in their quest of using human cells to create the human ear. The scientists used tissue engineering, which focuses on creating organs in the labs that would then replace patients' damaged organs to create an ear that resembles the human ear to a certain extent and has the same flexibility.

"We've demonstrated the first full-sized adult human ear on the rat model," the study's lead researcher, Dr. Thomas Cervantes said to BBC News. "We were able to keep the shape of the ear, after 12 weeks of growth in the rat...we were also able to keep the natural flexibility of the cartilage."

For this ear, the researchers removed living tissues from cows and sheep. The researchers then used a 3-dimensional shape that resembled a real human ear created by using images produced by CT scans. The tissues were then grown through the lab on this 3D titanium wire scaffold. The tissue sample was then placed into a rat with a suppressed immune system, allowing the ear to grow for three months.

"This research is a significant step forward in preparing the tissue-engineered ear for human clinical trials," Cervantes added.

The researchers hope that clinical trials using ears that would be created through tissue engineering would start within the five years. The study was published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.