DARPA teams up with Arteriocyte to create ominous-sounding blood pharming machine for the military

DARPA's been running a blood pharming program for quite awhile now, but it's gotten a real kick start this week with the announcement of a partnership with Cleveland-based biotech company Arteriocyte. Arteriocyte, it seems, has developed a Nanofiber Based System, or NANEX, a technology that enables the production of red blood cells without a donor. The two companies hope research will eventually lead to an "in theatre" blood-making machine for the military. So, if there's no donor, where do the progenitor cells come from? Well, that's a little hazy at this point, though Arteriocyte developed the NANEX using "blood of the umbilical cord" (stem cells), but we don't know what will fuel the final product. Personally, we hope they can squeak out a way to do it using the less controversial "blood of the dragon."

[Via CNet]

[BJ is Gooder @ Nov 15th 2008 4:37AM]

Weird. I was totally about to ask where the progenitor cells came from...

[ILoveApple @ Nov 15th 2008 4:37AM]

'100's'

...

[Erb @ Nov 15th 2008 4:38AM]

Proof. The military, works for hordes of vampires.

[ntlam @ Nov 15th 2008 4:47AM]

"blood of the dragon." ha ha ha ha ha....

[Polymath @ Nov 15th 2008 5:01AM]

Ok, I understood all the techno/biology babble, but I completely missed the "blood of the dragon" bit. What's the joke?

[SimonRichards @ Nov 15th 2008 6:15AM]

What's so controversial about using umbilical cord cells?

[404 @ Nov 15th 2008 6:38AM]

You'd be partially fuelling your nation's war machine using the blood of a thousand babies!

Think of the propaganda!

[/half joking]

[SimonRichards @ Nov 15th 2008 7:03AM]

Which nation are you talking about?

[404 @ Nov 15th 2008 7:19AM]

It was a general joke about the US or whichever nations end up adopting this.

Relax. Have a giggle.

[Samboini @ Nov 15th 2008 8:09AM]

404: the joke needs to be funny to imbibe upon a giggle.

[Samiel @ Nov 15th 2008 4:40PM]

There is in fact nothing controversial about umbilical stem cells: they are extracted from the umbilical cord after the baby is born.

Embryonic stem cells are the ones from babies.

"Stem Cells" could also refer to totally benign *Adult* stem cells, which actually hold medicinal promise and don't involve any shenanigans. I'd say they'll end up using, as the picture suggests, bone-marrow derived adult cells to produce their blood samples.

This is fantastic news for everyone really though; this technology could save your life in a normal hospital someday if they get it working.

[Omar @ Nov 15th 2008 6:39AM]

eh.. True Blood anyone.

[Cargo Jack @ Nov 15th 2008 7:44AM]

Gerbils in.

Human blood out.

[strider_mt2k @ Nov 15th 2008 7:28AM]

I can't tell you how many times my movie experience has been ruined by some inconsiderate slob doing cultures in the theater.

[-Tj- @ Nov 15th 2008 7:42AM]

I guess that makes sense... I was wondering how having a culture system in a theatre created blood cells.

[James Young @ Nov 16th 2008 9:00AM]

I loled at the blood of the dragon

[Dekstar @ Nov 15th 2008 12:04PM]

This reminds me of 'The Island'. Apparently you can't create life without exposing it to culture. I assume there's a mini-television in there for the stem-cells to watch 'theatre' while they grow into blood cells?
I'm no scientist, but it makes sense!

[JAY JAY @ Nov 15th 2008 12:51PM]

Next, they need a brain pharming machine for the zombie apocalypse .

[Kizul Emeraldfire @ Nov 15th 2008 4:33PM]

I may not be up-to-date on terms, here, but is it really spelled P-H-a-r-m-i-n-g instead of F-a-r-m-i-n-g? Down-vote me if you must, but I'm merely curious as to this oddity of spelling.

[Tom @ Nov 15th 2008 7:35PM]

It's pharming because it's blood, i.e. pharma-related.

Good to see the military-industrial complex producing lifesaving technology that will have broad use for the general population. And yes, I really mean that.

[JAY JAY @ Nov 15th 2008 4:49PM]

Yeah, this is great for the "military" if there would happen to be a major disaster. When it comes to the rest of us, we're screwed.

[Smileypanda @ Nov 15th 2008 6:44PM]

You mean like, a war?

[Scott @ Nov 18th 2008 5:25PM]

Right, because nothing created for the military evercomes out for public applications.

/sarc