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  • 2 days ago
It looks like we’ve finally made artificial universal blood. Huge if true! Here’s what’s happening and why it matters for you… You might know your blood type. The letter means whether you have A or B sugars in your blood - or both or none. And then the plus or minus means whether or not you have a specific protein in there too. So you can’t just give someone any kind of blood. It has to be compatible! But now, scientists are testing a new, artificial blood that can be used on anyone! Here’s how… The goal is to have these artificial cells saving lives by 2030! For more optimistic science and tech stories, subscribe! #science #animation #stem #medicine

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00:00It looks like we have finally made artificial universal blood.
00:05Here's what's happening. You might know that you have a blood type.
00:07The letter means whether or not you have A or B sugars in your blood, or both or none.
00:12And then the plus or minus means whether or not you also have another kind of protein.
00:15And you can't just give anyone any blood. It has to be compatible.
00:18So now, scientists are testing a new artificial blood that could be used on anyone.
00:23It's made by taking expired donor blood, which expires after only 42 days,
00:27and then extracting the protein that helps red blood cells move oxygen.
00:30And then they wrap that protein in a protective shell to make artificial blood cells,
00:34with none of the blood type markers.
00:36And then on top of that, it could be stored for up to two years at room temperature.
00:39They've already done a successful trial on volunteers,
00:41and they're working on a larger one to test effectiveness and safety.
00:44We could really have artificial blood by 2030.
00:47If you want more optimistic science and tech stories, subscribe.

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