Blood plasma and products made from it are used to treat conditions ranging from blood clotting disorders to immunodeficiencies to Rh-negative pregnancies.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Arnulfo Franco
In 2013 stories emerged of gangs stealing plasma TV screens to use to make street drugs. It’s a myth, but it tells us something about South Africa’s social anxieties.
Fusion could create more energy than any other process that could be produced on Earth.
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Plasma therapy sounded great at the start of the pandemic. Give COVID patients blood plasma from people who had recovered. But the evidence is in. It doesn’t work.
The touch screen in your phone relies on a very scarce element called indium. But now researchers have used plasma technology to do the same job without the risk that the world will run out.
A potential shortage of crucial blood plasma highlights the case for paying Canadians for plasma donations, rather than continuing to import most plasma from the United States, where donors are paid.
Here’s some facts you ought to know.
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After your body fights off an infection, antibodies remain in your blood. Two researchers explain how tests identify these antibodies and what the data can be used for.
A person who has recovered from COVID-19 donates plasma in Shandong, China.
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Before a vaccine is available to teach your immune system to ward off the coronavirus, maybe you can directly use molecules that have already fought it in other people.
The rewards for doing this usually aren’t monetary.
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Because most people want to be perceived as generous, sometimes monetary incentives for doing a good deed are counterproductive.
Researchers Tian Xia and Zijie Lin test a plasma prototype for preventing airborne transmission of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus at a Michigan pig farm.
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Viruses are small enough to pass through filters, including face masks. Disabling viruses with electrically charged gases could be a better way to curb airborne transmission.
Blood transports nutrients, hormones, proteins, vitamins and minerals around our body.
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