We know blood is vital for life, do we know why?
Illuminations: Blood Equality by Jordan Eagles (USA) Image credit: David Meanix and courtesy of artist as part of Science Gallery Melbourne’s BLOOD exhibition
Kenneth McLeod, Binghamton University, State University of New York
Weight loss often leads to declines in our resting metabolic rate – how many calories we burn at rest – which makes it hard to keep the weight off. So why does weight loss make resting metabolism go down?
Patient-specific aorta models with diseased coronary arteries.
Alison Marsden
Computer simulation and 3D printing are allowing scientists to develop faster, safer ways to test medical devices without installing them in live humans or animals.
Warfarin was first used as a pesticide.
p-a-t-r-i-c-k/Flickr
While some ancient therapies proved effective enough that they are still used in some form today, on the whole they just aren’t as good as modern antimicrobials at treating infections.
Blood is just one of the body fluids we need to survive.
Blood bag via www.shutterstock.com.
After years of conflicting research and often extreme opinions on iron, it turns out that like anything else that is a benefit in moderation, in excess it is a detriment.
Menstrual art with raspberry syrup.
Elizabeth Tunstall
The only approach that you don’t find used in menstrual power protests is the use of menstrual blood as a love charm. Perhaps that’s because it taps into the deepest fears of people, especially of heterosexual men, of being entrapped by the power of women’s fertility.
Staph aureus bloodstream infection has a 12-month death rate of between 20 and 35%.
Joe Techapanupreeda/Shutterstock
Which of the following conditions would you prefer to have during your next stay in hospital? A. Staphylococcus aureus (Golden Staph) bloodstream infection; or B. a heart attack?
Blood is categorised by the naturally occurring proteins and sugars on the surface of red blood cells.
Jon Åslund/Flickr
Ashley Ng, WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research)
Few discoveries have revolutionised the practice of medicine as much as the discovery of human red blood cell groups. Unlike modern vampire and Time Lord mythologies, blood groups don’t have a particular…
Sepsis claims the lives of 8m people worldwide each year. It is the leading cause of hospital deaths in the US, a major threat to soldiers wounded in battle and a killer of children, particularly in under-resourced…
A child in Senegal waiting to be tested for sickle cell anaemia - in parts of Africa up to 40% of the population can carry the sickle cell gene.
EPA/Pierre Holtz
Genetic mutations that affect our blood cells’ haemoglobin are the most common of all mutations. It has been estimated that around 5% of the world’s population carry a defective globin gene. Haemoglobin…
Swiss scientists have developed a breakthrough technique that could see full-thickness skin grown in the lab, complete with blood and lymph vessels. Skin grafting has been used to treat major burns and…
It’s quite a romantic notion that the sweetness of our blood attracts mosquitoes. But in reality, it’s probably the cocktail of stinky microbes on our skin that really draws them in. It’s hard to know…
We share many behaviours and characteristics with our primate cousins and now we know our blood types are more closely linked as well.
AAP Image/Taronga Zoo
A study published in PNAS this week has confirmed that human blood types were present in one of our ancient primate ancestors. The ABO blood groups Beloved by genetics teachers the world over, the ABO…
Interventional Cardiologist, Alfred Hospital; Professor of Medicine and Immunology, Monash University; Professor and Head, Department of Cardiometabolic Health, University of Melbourne; Lab Head, Atherothrombosis and Vascular Biology and Deputy Director, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute