Editor's Blog
Annalee Newitz reports on io9 about an MIT paper about ongoing experiments with synthetic blood.
From the abstract: "Similar to their natural counterparts, RBC-mimicking particles described here possess the ability to carry oxygen and flow through capillaries smaller than their own diameter. Further, they can also encapsulate drugs and imaging agents. These particles provide a paradigm for the design of drug delivery and imaging carriers, because they combine the functionality of natural RBCs with the broad applicability and versatility of synthetic drug delivery particles."
But the youth of America want to know: will romantic vampires who look like Trent Reznor be able to drink a pint down at the neighborhood bar?
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3 Comments
*giggle* Probably.
However, I find this quite interesting from the perspective of Freitas’s respirocytes. We’ve now proven we can make the red blood shell, now we simply need to put in the high pressure oxygen tank mechanism.
So it might not just be the Vampires alone who will be guzzling these down. I wonder if the sports doping tests can detect synthetic blood?
Good idea with the high pressure oxygen tank mechanism
It’s funny to talk about vampires. But if we be serious, synthetic blood can become a big advantage for medicine. Especially, in the places were some disasters disasters took place. A lot of injured people that really needs for a blood.