Slow going for blood substitutes
Article Abstract:
For 20 years investigators have been trying to develop blood substitutes or artificial blood, but have had many problems. Hemoglobin, the protein of red blood cells that carries oxygen, by itself, is not therapeutically effective. Hemoglobin must be in the red blood cell for it to be structurally stable and capable of binding to and releasing oxygen. Derivatives of hemoglobin have been synthesized, but they have had very serious toxic side effects, including kidney failure. Recently, there have been two indications that the development of artificial blood may be completed within five to six years; one from Biopure Corp. in Boston, and another from the US Army's Letterman Institute of Research in San Francisco. The product from Biopure is derived from cow hemoglobin, which may cause an allergic reaction in humans. Biopure conducted a trial on 10 human volunteers in Guatemala, with no side effects. However, an allergic reaction may occur after the second dose, as the body may be sensitized from the first dose. It is felt that more open research is necessary so that many scientists can learn from other's results. Because much of the research is being done in private industry, not much exchange is occurring. This has slowed the advances in the research and is one of the reasons why artificial blood is not yet available. To offset these problems, the Letterman laboratory has offered to supply their modified hemoglobin to anyone interested in studying it. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Science
Subject: Science and technology
ISSN: 0036-8075
Year: 1990
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
A boom in plans for DNA computing
Article Abstract:
Researchers are growing excited about the possible applications of the DNA computer built by Leonard Adleman. The DNA computer may enable the performance of billions of operations simultaneously, a tremendous advance over the few thousand parallel procedures currently possible.
Publication Name: Science
Subject: Science and technology
ISSN: 0036-8075
Year: 1995
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
- Abstracts: Dragon slays the voice robot. The making of multimedia
- Abstracts: Advances in ultrameasurement. Fueling alternatives
- Abstracts: Flipping the main switch in the central reward system? New populations of old add to poor nations' burdens. Street-wise crack research
- Abstracts: Molecular biology lies down with the lamb. Chronic fatigue as chameleon
- Abstracts: Genome backlash going full force. NF's cancer connections. Disease and death in the New World