Slashdot Mirror


Scientists Create Artificial Blood

simm1701 wrote us with a BBC article link on a sort of artificial blood substitute being developed by an English university. The substance is light, can survive at room temperature, and keeps longer than real blood, allowing it to be used as a stand-in in emergency situations. "The new blood is made up of plastic molecules that have an iron atom at their core, like haemoglobin, that can carry oxygen through the body. The scientists said the artificial blood could be cheap to produce and they were looking for extra funding to develop a final prototype that would be suitable for biological testing ... A sample of the artificial blood prototype will be on display at the Science Museum in London from 22 May as part of an exhibition about the history of plastics."

23 of 225 comments (clear)

  1. Thank god! by Anarchysoft · · Score: 2, Funny

    I was almost out of V8.

    1. Re:Thank god! by tibike77 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Vampires, rejoice ! Soon, the artificial blood project will be complete !
      New, in Italian, Mexican and Indian flavors.

      --
      By reading this signature you agree to not disagree with the post you just read.
    2. Re:Thank god! by Bent+Mind · · Score: 4, Funny

      Nah, I'll stick with natural. This artificial stuff tastes too much like plastic.

      --
      Request a Linux Shockwave player here: http://www.macromedia.com/support/email/wishform/
    3. Re:Thank god! by Bloke+down+the+pub · · Score: 2, Funny

      Not Chinese? I suppose it'd taste nice, but after an hour you'd feel like another.

      --
      It's true I tell you, feller at work's next door neighbour read it in the paper.
  2. that explains the vampires last night by swschrad · · Score: 4, Funny

    attacking my vinyl gutters and screaming, "plastic! PLASSSTIC! we must have plasssticcc!!!"

    threw 'em a floppy and shut the window.

    --
    if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
    1. Re:that explains the vampires last night by Tablizer · · Score: 3, Funny

      attacking my vinyl gutters and screaming, "plastic! PLASSSTIC! we must have plasssticcc!!!" threw 'em a floppy and shut the window.

      Use #462 for AOL disks: Vampire Decoy

  3. Won't be a big hit. by t_ban · · Score: 2, Funny
    vampires will continue to prefer organic.

    --
    First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win. -Gandhi
    1. Re:Won't be a big hit. by dr_dank · · Score: 2, Funny

      Two words: vampire methadone.

      --
      Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
  4. Re:Can I get it in green? by GundamFan · · Score: 4, Funny

    Perhaps a blue variety for the upper class English?

    --
    I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
    Mark Twain
  5. Re:lasting effects? by Drooling+Iguana · · Score: 5, Funny

    I've heard that they did have a problem with the body's immune system flipping out and attacking the new artificial blood cells in early testing, but since they fitted each one of them with a miniature eyepatch and peg leg they've been able to defend themselves quite effectively.

    --
    ... I'm addicted to placebos
  6. Can I get it in cows? by Mahjub+Sa'aden · · Score: 5, Funny

    Forget different colours. What we should do is genetically modify cows to produce blood instead of milk. How awesome would that be?

    Although it would give a whole new meaning to "clotted cream".

    --
    What is is all that is. Isn't that obvious?
    1. Re:Can I get it in cows? by C0rinthian · · Score: 5, Funny

      I think Cows produce that already, but I'm no biologist...

  7. Re:lasting effects? by FictionalAccount · · Score: 5, Funny

    Turn-X furiously tapped away at his keyboard, sweat dripping from his brow. Time was of the essence, and he had to get his message out NOW.

    The story had just come up over the SlashWire, and unlike the usually dismissive drivel, this one caught his eye. Artificial blood. Something wasn't right here. They were going to investigate artificial blood? He thought back to his high school biology and that time he skinned his knee. Also that one program he saw on Nova. Blood...body...plastic...NO GOOD! My God, what if the body totally flipped out and went all attack mode on the blood! An emergency situation would be totally ruined!

    He had to act.

    Quickly he hit the reply button. The world needed to know before the scientists made an irreversible mistake. As fast as his fingers could go, he tapped out his response and hit sumbit. Now all he could do was wait. The story was fresh, so he might have caught it in time.

    Yes! There it was. The Slashmods had taken notice. A reply. A mod point. But not good enough...not yet. Minutes ticked by, the story was already the second down. Would he make it in time?

    Waiting...waiting...

    YES! +5 moderation! He sighed. His point was made, and now the world knew. The scientists would roll back their plans and head back to the drawing board.

    Turn-X would sleep well tonight.

    --
    Like what you read? Read more here.
  8. Re:Silicon by dubbreak · · Score: 5, Funny

    They used silicon..

    but they found that flat square boobs weren't fashionable so they moved to using silicone.

    --
    "If you are going through hell, keep going." - Winston Churchill
  9. Aspertame by king-manic · · Score: 3, Funny

    It's Aspertame for vampires.

    --
    "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
  10. Fake Blood by emudoug42 · · Score: 2, Funny

    You rock me like the real thing... and if you were the real thing, you'd rock me even more

  11. Re:lasting effects? by nixkuroi · · Score: 3, Funny

    That's not a problem, that's a super power! If they could make these things from Kevlar, you put some in a guy, he gets shot and the wound scabs over with a bullet proof protective shell - finally realizing our dream of substantiating the "That which does not kill us, makes us stronger" cliche' we keep hearing about!

    Sign me up!

  12. Re:lasting effects? by Moofie · · Score: 3, Funny

    It is now my mission in life to be lampooned by you. I can't wait. : )

    --
    Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
  13. Celebrities of the World - rejoice! by Shemmie · · Score: 2, Funny

    Now not only can your noses, your breasts, your pecks and so forth be plastic, but your blood can be plastic too!
    "Plastic to the core, baby!"

  14. All day and all of the night by Dogtanian · · Score: 2, Funny

    Nah, I'll stick with natural. This artificial stuff tastes too much like plastic If this takes off, all the vampires'll be going around trying to figure out which humans are "organic" and which have the plastic stuff in their blood. You can't tell just by looking. Hey!..... I know a song about that.

    # A man lives at the corner of the street,
    And his neighbors think he's helpful and he's sweet,
    'Cause he never swears and he always shakes you by the hand,
    But no one knows he really is a plastic man. #

    # He's got plastic heart, plastic blood and veins
    (Yeah, he's plastic man)
    He's got plastic knees and [eh, sod this I can't make it rhyme and Ray Davis is going to sue me]. #
    --
    "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
  15. Re:Question for those who tried already by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    No

  16. Re:lasting effects? by ch-chuck · · Score: 3, Funny

    the uniformed slashdot readers of the world

    There's a slashdot uniform? Where do I get one? What is it, some kind of green jumpsuit with special insignia on it?

    --
    try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
  17. Re:Artificial blood for my cat by LordP · · Score: 5, Funny

    Your cat has been in training and is out looking for that damn raccoon to exact vengeance.

    --
    Nothing is so smiple that it can't be screwed up.