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Tardigrade Protein Trick Could Help Blood Withstand Freezing
Key Takeaways
- Tardigrades survive freezing, dehydration and the vacuum of space, and have even tolerated tiny tattoos.
- Standard red blood cell cryopreservation uses glycerol, which must be removed before transfusion and causes cell damage during removal.
- Researchers combined the sugar trehalose with a section of the tardigrade CAHS protein instead of the full protein.
- Frozen in liquid nitrogen, the mixture altered ice formation and melting, shielding cells from damage; it can later be washed away by centrifugation.
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DT Editorial Team··via phys.org