Scientists Invented An Injectable Oxygen Particle That Lets You Survive Without Breathing
J Thoendell stashed this in Tech
Source: http://www.geekosystem.com/new-oxygen-pa...
Scientists have developed a new microparticle filled with oxygen that can be injected into the blood stream, keeping you alive even if you can’t intake air into your lungs. The microparticles are actually tiny capsules (2-4 micrometers tiny) made of a single layer of lipids surrounding a small bubble of oxygen gas. The capsule is suspended in a liquid so that the bubbles don’t get any bigger (which would make them deadly, FYI).
Upon injecting the capsule-filled liquid into the bloodstream, the capsules crash into your red blood cells, transferring the oxygen gas from the capsule to the cell. About 70% of the oxygen injected successfully makes its way into the blood stream this way. This injection method was so successful that the scientists managed to keep rabbits with blocked windpipes alive for fifteen whole minutes.
Stashed in: Science!, Medicine, Innovation, Breathe.
1:29 PM Apr 07 2014