A completely new type of cell has been discovered in the human airway, and it may have a central role in the common genetic disorder cystic fibrosis.

The discovery came out of a census of all the cells in the windpipe and lungs , led by Allon Klein at Harvard Medical School and Aron Jaffe at the pharamaceutical company Novartis. They analysed gene activity in epithelial cells – which line membranes – taken from human lungs and the trachea of mice.

They …