Universal blood?
p2pnet.net OT news:- You know in war movies when they’re desperately looking around for someone with A negative blood to save the hero’s life, and everyone is B positive?
Well, those days may be over, “thanks to enzymes that scrub antigens from red blood cells, turning all donated blood into group O – which can be given safely to anyone,” says New Scientist.
The process uses bacterial enzymes to cut sugar molecules from the surface of red blood cells, says The Telegraph, continuing:
“The scientists, led by Prof Henrik Clausen, from the University of Copenhagen, started by screening 2,500 types of fungi and bacteria looking for useful proteins.”
Two bacteriums, Elizabethkingia meningosepticum, and Bacterioides fragilis, yielded enzymes capable of removing both A and B antigens from red blood cells.”
Clausen’s team is working with a ZymeQuest, a US company, “which plans clinical trials to test whether the treated blood is safe and effective,” says New Scientist.
Also See:
New Scientist – Enzymes convert all donor blood to group O, April 1, 2007
The Telegraph -Scientists change one blood group into another, April 2, 2007
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April 2nd, 2007 at 1:35 pm
This is quite an interesting story, but what does it have to do with P2P?
April 2nd, 2007 at 2:37 pm
OT means Off Topic and every now and then, I post an item just because it interested me and I figured it might also interest someone else : )
Cheers!
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:13 pm
Bacteriums??? Ouch!
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:10 pm
Well, if it works out, it’ll help people share blood. I mean it’s not directly p2p the blood banks get involved and all that, but there’s still sharing going on.