WHERE'S THE SYNTHETIC BLOOD?

Summary from the TLDR newsletter

The creation of synthetic blood is one of the holy grails of biomedical research. There are two main approaches to making synthetic blood products: the biologist's approach and the chemist's approach. The biologist's approach involves coaxing stem cells into becoming blood cells, while the chemist's approach synthesizes molecules and particles that mimic the functions of blood cells. Both approaches need to overcome economic and manufacturing challenges before they can scale for use in patients.