A busca pelo sangue artificial substituto

segunda-feira, janeiro 18, 2010

Search for an Artificial Blood Substitute


ScienceDaily (Jan. 17, 2010) — If the current wave of vampire stories is to be believed, humans can peacefully co-exist with vampires.



The Twilight book trilogy has 'vegetarian' vampires living on animal blood, and in the TV series True Blood, Japanese scientists have developed a synthetic blood substitute. However, in the most recent blockbuster movieDaybreakers, vampires suffer a horrific fate when attempting to drink their blood substitute.
Back in the real world, the hunt for a blood substitute could not be truer. In fact, the quest to create artificial blood is big business, with more than one billion pounds being spent over the last 20 years in an attempt to create a true alternative to blood.






Professor Chris Cooper showing the changes in blood color. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Essex)

Among those around the globe seeking a viable blood alternative are scientists at the University of Essex who have just submitted a worldwide patent for their engineered hemoglobin.
Over 75 million units of donated blood are given to people worldwide for use in hospitals. However, there are growing concerns about its use in routine operations.
A true blood substitute would be very useful as it could have a long shelf life, be stored away from hospitals, need not be matched for blood group and be guaranteed free of contamination by any present or future viruses.
The starting materials for blood substitutes have included chemicals used to help make atom bombs, cow blood and blood grown in bacteria. However, to date the world's scientists have failed to produce a safe alternative to blood. The real world is more Daybreakers than True Blood.
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