Science Renders Breathing Obsolete

[Gilhelmi]

"Some of the most convincing experiments were the early ones," he says. "We drew each other's blood, mixed it in a test tube with the microparticles, and watched blue blood turn immediately red, right before our eyes."

Maybe someone can explain this to me. I've never really been good with how the pigmentation of blood works. There isn't any actual "blue" blood, right? Or is it possible to make blood appear blue in an oxygen-free environment?

Yeah... now I'm confused. I learned in school that vein blood was blue, then in college that it wasn't really and people were just mistaken. I've also given blood to the Red Cross, and they pull that from your veins into a vacuum (so no oxygen addition), and it's definitely not blue.

So I looked it up. [http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2008/02/11/is-blood-ever-blue-science-tea/] If by "blue" you mean "darker red", then it sounds like blood can be blue. But if by "blue" you mean, you know, "blue", then no, that's just the vein color.

I don't know what Kheir is talking about. He's either assuming people think de-oxygenated blood is blue and speaking appropriately, totally unclear about the meaning of color, or he dyed the blood.

Or I've been lied to by the internet.

I am sure that "blue blood" looks like dark red blood too every one but it is the scientific 'slang' that has stuck. It comes out of the "blue" veins (I know they are not actually blue under the skin but again 'slang') so therefor it is blue blood.

OT: this is excellent news. To think what the possibilities are for this in 20, 30, or 40 years. They might actually make it possible too live nearly indefinitely without breathing. Lung cancer patients can have their lungs removed and transplant new lungs (cloned lungs even). That is only one possibility among dozens.

This will be fascinating too see develop.

 

[Tony2077]

cool i can't wait to see what comes of this and how many lives will be saved.

 

[Albino Boo]

In 20 years, the breathing goop from The Abyss really going to happen?

The goop from the abyss already exits and did so when they made the film. Its designed to deal the with the problems of gasses compressing at high pressure in the bloodstream. When the driver comes back towards the surface, to quickly, the bubbles expand cause extreme agony, organ damage and eventually death. By breathing a liquid that contains the oxygen which you avoid the problems of compression. After saying all that, it is still experimental and after 20 odd years with no real advancement I suspect it will remain so.

 

[Elate]

This.. is actually of a lot of interest to me, having asthma and all that, I haven't had a major attack in years, but having say an epipen of this stuff in case I start to get it really badly would be really comforting if nothing else.

 

[Quaxar]

So that sounds neat but so far it seems like this is only an experiment. Either that or they hid the animal study details really well. And anyway this is going to take years of clinical trial in a human-based meta-study to actually be approved for regular use.

In 20 years, the breathing goop from The Abyss really going to happen?

The goop from the abyss already exists and did so when they made the film.

Addition: The scene with the mouse in the solution? Yeah, that's no trick, that's the actual stuff at work. Pretty impressive for a 1989 film, right?

 

[Loop Stricken]

This sounds absolutely fantastic.

 

[Draconalis]

I wonder what potential use this might have for divers.

Air expanding as one rises is dangerous for the lungs... so if you don't need to breath anymore...

Though I suppose filling a tank full of air is much cheaper than making this breath-for-you liquid.

 

[sethisjimmy]

Very nice. My first reaction wasn't really "breath underwater etc" though, I can see it being used on patients with respiratory problems or any sort of throat issue that restricts breathing while doctors try and fix the issue.
I can't imagine not having to breath though, seems like that would be a creepy feeling if I was awake.

 

[Project_Xii]

Huzzah! Practical uses appear to be the best place for it at the moment, but we're one step closer to removing an obsolete evolutionary quirk that does nothing but hold the human race back. Next: pill form! Take one pill, no need to breath for an hour!

I just wish David Carradine could be here to see this.

Oh.... oh dude.....

 

[vxicepickxv]

They've invented LCL. We're one step closer to Evangelion's nightmare future.

LCL must have had some type of special agent which would have been able to directly interface with the lungs. The human body can't withstand water in the lungs, because it can't extract the oxygen.

 

[maninahat]

Though I imagine he was speaking figuratively, I call bullshit on that last line. Despite all the diagrams and the common assumptions, deoxygenated blood is not blue in colour. Unless they have a funky dye for the purpose?

 

[Myeth]

And no one cares about the animals they 'used' to find this out?

 

[Loop Stricken]

They've invented LCL. We're one step closer to Evangelion's nightmare future.

LCL must have had some type of special agent which would have been able to directly interface with the lungs. The human body can't withstand water in the lungs, because it can't extract the oxygen.

... you breath liquid for the first nine months or so of your life.

[sub]Yes I know your lungs aren't actually THERE for a good chunk of it, just... shut up.[/sub]

And no one cares about the animals they 'used' to find this out?

In a word? No.

In more words? Yes, but would you rather test it on humans and then find out it does horrible things to your veins and makes you explode?

 

[Frylock72]

"Some of the most convincing experiments were the early ones," he says. "We drew each other's blood, mixed it in a test tube with the microparticles, and watched blue blood turn immediately red, right before our eyes."

Maybe someone can explain this to me. I've never really been good with how the pigmentation of blood works. There isn't any actual "blue" blood, right? Or is it possible to make blood appear blue in an oxygen-free environment?

Yeah... now I'm confused. I learned in school that vein blood was blue, then in college that it wasn't really and people were just mistaken. I've also given blood to the Red Cross, and they pull that from your veins into a vacuum (so no oxygen addition), and it's definitely not blue.

So I looked it up. [http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2008/02/11/is-blood-ever-blue-science-tea/] If by "blue" you mean "darker red", then it sounds like blood can be blue. But if by "blue" you mean, you know, "blue", then no, that's just the vein color.

I don't know what Kheir is talking about. He's either assuming people think de-oxygenated blood is blue and speaking appropriately, totally unclear about the meaning of color, or he dyed the blood.

Or I've been lied to by the internet.

Well, unless you hold your breath, blood in your veins is going to be oxygen-rich because you've been breathing. It'll be red because it has oxygen in it.

 

[Tiger Sora]

"And here I am using my own lungs like a sucker." - Homer Simpson.

Glad to hear of medical science actually developing something extremely helpful that will save millions of lives. Instead of telling me what next can give me cancer....

 

[keinechance]

A fantastic discovery, that will save lives in the future.

Only thing left to say is:

SCIENCE, IT WORKS!

 

[chadachada123]

And no one cares about the animals they 'used' to find this out?

Not...really...no...

Why would they?

Presumably, the animal didn't suffer an extreme amount, even if they continued using the liquid until, as the article says, the blood became too thinned out, because asphixiation only hurts because of carbon dioxide build-up, not from a lack of oxygen.

Though, the article doesn't describe how they dealt with CO2 build-up.

Still, the animal likely didn't suffer that much, AND we advanced medicine a good thirty years just now.

 

[vkola]

[/quote]Well, unless you hold your breath, blood in your veins is going to be oxygen-rich because you've been breathing. It'll be red because it has oxygen in it.[/quote]

You Sir are correct. Red blood is oxygen filled blood, and it's the Hemoglobin that transports the oxygen in the bloodstream. When the Hemoglobin exchanges Oxygen for Carbondioxide it changes the color of the blood slightly.. But the coloring is mostly used to visualize the paths the oxygen filled blood travels in the body.

But dont go selling your lungs just yet, as they are used to transport out carbondioxide from your bloodstream and it's pretty handy to have, unless you want to die from carbondioxide poisoning...

 

[Dresos]

This really sounds quite amazing.