Embryo-made Synthetic Blood

Scientists from the United Kingdom are planning a major research project which involves investigation on embryonic stem cells to create synthetic human blood. The Scottish National Blood Transfusion System is leading a three year trial aimed to provide an unlimited supply of blood for emergency transfusions. Their objective is creating banks of the universal “O-” blood donor group, which should be free of infections and transfused to anyone without fearing tissue rejection. This blood type is really limited, as only 7% of the population belongs to this blood type.

The Welcome Trust have promised £3m towards the cost of the project, with further funding coming from the blood transfusion services of Scotland, England and Wales. The Irish government is also believed to be involved. Edinburgh University scientist Marc Turner, director of the National Blood Transfusion Service, will be leading this project, and mentioned the work would begin in the next few weeks after final approval had been given from the relevant research bodies.

This project is based on the system in which the US firm called Advanced Cell Technology has managed to produce billions of red blood cells from embryonic blood cells in this way. “Our challenge” Professor Turner says, “Is to scale up the production and move the science from the lab to the bedside, which will take years. We will be able to generate proof of the principle in a few years, but the real treatment is 5 to 10 years away.” In principle, this would provide an unlimited supply of blood in this way, and probably save thousands of lives.

UK’s Ministry of Defense releases third installment of UFO files

The acronym UFO is an abbreviation for the US Air Force term “Unidentified Flying Object.” It was coined in 1950 to replace the term “flying saucers”, which was widely used by the media and public. Although for the public and the media UFO has since become a synonym for “alien spaceship”, for the military forces of the world it is simply refers to something in the sky the observer can see but does not recognize.

In part of a three-year project by the Ministry of Defense, there’s a release of UFO files, which can be downloaded from the National Archives website. These documents are the first containing information written by defense intelligence staff to be made public, although they’re just going to stay that way for a month. ‘From suspected US Air Force spy planes to Russian rockets burning up in the atmosphere, these new files show the many and varied explanations for UFO reports submitted to the MoD. Said Dr Clarke, a UFO expert and Journalism lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University.
The most distinctive story was the one of a woman claiming that approximately at 22:30 on Monday, 20 November, 1989; she was walking her dog in her hometown, near Norwich, UK, when a man approached her and asked if she would listen to what he had to say. The woman agreed. She described the man as 5’9’’ fair hair with a Scandinavian type accent and dressed in a light brown garment similar to a flying suit. He asked if she was aware of the crop circles, and then proceeded to explain that he was from another planet similar to Earth, and that the circles were made by others like him who travelled to Earth. He went on to explain that the purpose of their visits was friendly, but that they were told not to make contact with the people on Earth, as they might see them as a potential threat. He explained he talked to her because he felt that contact between the two people to occur. After ten minutes the man left her, and she ran towards home until she heard a loud buzzing noise behind her, and turned to see a large spherical object rising vertically from behind the trees which rose steadily until out of sight.