131. Lab-Grown Blood Transfusion, Breast Cancer Vaccine Trials, Microplastic Eating Robot Fish

Show Notes: <p><a href='https://newatlas.com/medical/first-human-patients-lab-grown-blood-cells-transfusions-clinical-trial/'>First human patients receive transfusions of lab-grown blood cells</a> | New Atlas (01:01) </p> <ul><li style="font-weight:400;"> <p>For the first time ever, human patients have received transfusions of blood cells that were grown from stem cells in a lab</p> <ul><li style="font-weight:400;"> <p> Revolutionize blood transfusions</p> </li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight:400;"> <p>Blood donations are life saving, but the demand outweighs the supply</p> <ul><li style="font-weight:400;"> <p>But only 13.6 million units of whole blood and red blood cells are collected in the U.S. in a year.</p> </li> </ul> <ul><li style="font-weight:400;"> <p>According to<a href='https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/how-to-donate/how-blood-donations-help/blood-needs-blood-supply.html'> the Red Cross</a>, only about 3% of age-eligible people donate blood yearly.</p> </li> <li style="font-weight:400;"> <p>Nearly 16 million blood components are transfused each year in the U.S.</p> </li> <li style="font-weight:400;"> <p>Approximately 29,000 units of red blood cells are needed every day in the U. S. </p> </li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight:400;"> <p>An attractive alternative would be large-scale production of red blood cells in labs, which can be tuned to have whichever blood type is needed. </p> </li> <li style="font-weight:400;"> <p>The new clinical trial, named RESTORE, is designed to test the safety of transfusions of these manufactured blood cells, as well as how long they last in the body.</p> <ul><li style="font-weight:400;"> <p>Lab-grown blood  is all made “fresh,” so it should all reliably last up to 120 days.</p> </li> <li style="font-weight:400;"> <p>For people with conditions that require regular blood transfusions, such as sickle cell, the longer lifespan of the cells should help give them longer gaps between transfusions. </p> </li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight:400;"> <p>The RESTORE