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The Centennial's Almost Here... DON'T MISS IT! July 7, 2007 - 07/07/07! - will be the birth centennial of American author, futurist, philosopher and spaceflight advocate Robert A. Heinlein. The science fiction Grandmaster's Centennial year will be marked with a grand event on the weekend of July 6, 7 and 8 in his home town of Kansas City, Missouri.

Militants 'will fight to the last drop of blood' By Harry de Quetteville in Shatila camp, Beirut Last Updated: 1:20am BST 25/05/2007 Islamic militants besieged inside a refugee camp in Lebanon will fight "to the last drop of blood", supporters of their leader said yesterday. Some of the refugees who left the Nahr al-Bared camp. Thousands remain trapped inside as the militants threaten to fight on The warning came as Lebanese troops clashed again with the Fatah al-Islam fighters led by Shaker al-Absi in the Nahr al-Bared camp on the outskirts of Tripoli. Al-Absi, a 52-year-old jet pilot turned Islamic...

Artificial blood made up of plastic molecules has been created by researchers at Sheffield University in the UK. The artificial blood is light to carry and, unlike blood plasma, does not need to be refrigerated. It also has a longer shelf life. The new artificial blood consists of plastic molecules with an iron atom at their core; this allows it to simulate the oxygen-carrying hemoglobin in real red blood cells. Hemoglobin is the metalloprotein in red blood cells that transports oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body - like the muscles - where it releases its oxygen...

Cocoa But Not Tea Linked To Blood Pressure Reduction A German study suggests there is evidence that cocoa but not tea is linked to blood pressure reduction. The study is published in the American Medical Association journal Archives of Internal Medicine. Dr Dirk Taubert and colleagues from the Department of Pharmacology at the University Hospital of Cologne, Germany, reviewed the medical literature for dietary effects of cocoa and black and green tea on blood pressure over the last 40 years. They specifically searched for trials involving 10 or more adults that examined the before and after effects of consuming cocoa,...

PORT BLAIR, India (Reuters) - Thousands of people are flocking to a policeman's house in India's remote Andaman Islands to pray in front of two portraits of Jesus Christ, which are said to have been "bleeding" for the past two weeks, police and witnesses said. Eric Nathaniel, a police radio operator, found red fluid trickling down a portrait of Jesus in his house two weeks ago which he believed was blood. "We lit candles and prayed all night and a little later the blood dried but it soon started trickling down from the hands and heart of another portrait in...

SAN FRANCISCO - A nice cup of the right kind of cocoa could hold the promise of promoting brain function as people age. In an increasingly aging world, medical researchers are seeing more cases of dementia and are looking for ways to make brains work better. One potential source of help may be flavanols, an antioxidant found in cocoa beans that can increase blood flow to the brain, researchers said Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Ian MacDonald of England's University of Nottingham reported on tests given to young women who were...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2007 – The Armed Services Blood Program Web site has been redesigned, offering updated content as well as a new look, officials said. The new Web site, www.militaryblood.dod.mil, features information on how to join a “Life Force” team of donors, volunteers and supporters. Topics include blood facts, donor eligibility criteria, donor center locations, and more. Other information offered involves the ASBP “Specialist in Blood Banking” program, its curriculum and how to apply. Convenient links direct users to online blood donation appointment scheduling via the “Click to Save Lives” blood drop button on the ASBP home page....

Last month, Harbor High School in Santa Cruz held its annual blood drive with the American Red Cross. After volunteering for hours, student body president Ronnie Childers waited in line to donate his own blood. He was turned away. Ronnie is gay, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration bars any boy or man who has had sex with another man since 1977 from donating blood. The FDA says gay men are far more likely to be infected with HIV than the general population, so the agency has a duty to protect the nation's blood supply. Ronnie, who came out...

Director of MDA's blood services rejects criticism, says decision not to use blood taken from homosexuals does not stem from homophobic reasons but rather from concern for patients Ynet Published: 01.09.07, 14:37 Last week the Blood Bank announced an emergency situation and called on the public to donate blood in order to increase the level of donations required for operations and emergency surgery. The lack of blood donations was so serious that it was reported that surgeries not deemed crucial would be postponed. On Tuesday of this week, "Our Colors", the Meretz party's gay youth movement is set to convene...

LA GLORIA - There is no need to go to Mexico, Spain or to South America to watch a bullfight. This small town in western Starr County is the home of the country's only bullring that features fighting bulls. But unlike other bullrings where blood is what seems to attract spectators, the bullfights at Santa Maria Bullring are bloodless - bulls are fought with a red cape, not killed. The bullring is starting its winter season with four world-class bloodless bullfights scheduled for Jan. 14 at the arena, at the intersection of FM 1017 and FM 755 in La Gloria,...

THOMAS JEFFERSON God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions, it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. ... What country before ever existed a century and half without a rebellion? And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take...

"The Central California Blood Center may stop accepting plasma donations from women next year, sharply reducing the number of donors in the central San Joaquin Valley."

WASHINGTON, Dec. 27, 2006 – It’s a little-known fact that about 20 percent of servicemembers donate blood, compared to less than 5 percent of the civilian populace, the director of the U.S. military’s blood program said here today. This year, the Armed Services Blood Program will collect about 160,000 units or pints of blood products, Navy Cmdr. Michael C. Libby said during a Pentagon Channel interview. “That’s 20 percent more than last year, and that’s twice as much as we did in 2001,” Libby said. That’s possible, he said, because of the great generosity of the program’s donors. National...

WASHINGTON — The Navy's latest proposal to test a blood substitute made by a Massachusetts company on 1,100 trauma victims appears more likely to earn a go-ahead from regulators who had blocked the experiment over safety concerns. The Navy wants to test the product, derived from cow blood, on civilian trauma victims in emergency situations. It proposes doing so without obtaining their consent in advance, as is customary in clinical trials. The substitute blood, called Hemopure, would be given on the way to the hospital to patients ages 18 to 69 who have lost dangerous amounts of blood. It would...

'Apocalypto' Is More 'Mad Max' Than Mayan With the subtlety of several thousand flying mallets and arrows, here comes Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto," a two hour plus torture-fest so violent that women and children will be headed to the doors faster than you can say "duck" when the film opens on Dec. 8th. Indeed, 'Apocalypto' is the most violent movie Disney has ever released, with so much blood spurting out of orifices that even Martin Scorsese would blush. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to see heads and hearts removed without anesthesia, then this is the movie for...

Ancient human hunters smelt blood on the breeze 26 October 2006 From New Scientist Print Edition. Our ability to detect the characteristic metallic smell left on the skin after handling iron-containing objects like coins and keys may have evolved for a more gory purpose: to help our hunter ancestors track down wounded prey. Fats on the skin break down to form volatile, strong-smelling substances called ketones and aldehydes when they come into contact with iron - whether it comes from the environment or from haemoglobin in blood - says Dietmar Glindemann, a chemist at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University...

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani traveled to New York this week for the opening of the 61st session of the United Nations General Assembly. In a letter to the people of the United States, Talabani describes Iraq’s security situation, challenges and progress, and his country’s special relationship with the U.S. “Dear Americans, As I am visiting the United States for the second time representing free and democratic Iraq, I felt it my duty to give you an update on what has been achieved in Iraq over the past year and on the challenges that lie ahead. The first thing I would...

SALINA, Kan. — A high school science teacher was suspended for allowing students to use the same instrument to draw blood from their fingers as part of a class project, district officials said Tuesday. About 50 juniors and seniors in two science classes at Salina High School South used the same lancet, or small pin, to prick their fingers on Monday, said Carol Pitts, spokeswoman for the Salina school district. The science teacher, who was not identified, was suspended with pay during an investigation, Pitts said....

SAN GENNARO: NEW MIRACLE(AGI) - Naples, Sept. 19 - The miracle of San Gennaro's blood that liquefies happened again in the cathedral of Naples during the feast of the Patron Saint, which is the anniversary of the martyrdom which took place in 305 A.C. at the Pozzuoli solfatara. It was announced by the archbishop, cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, who is going to celebrate for the first time on this occasion, after the reading of the Gospel. At 9.20 the archbishop said: 'I would like to announce that a few minutes ago the blood started to melt.' The announcement was welcomed by...

Blood type may have something to do with stock investment styles and the success of investment, a poll of 1,126 individual investors suggests. The poll was conducted by stock investment portal site Paxnet from Aug. 30 to Sept. 8. According to the firm, investors with blood type A and AB were more likely to pursue stable investment strategies and were relatively successful in investments, while those with blood type of O and B made more aggressive investments and often lost money. Out of 394 investors with blood type A, 184 (47 percent) made profit in stock investment, as did 79...

Freeper Maria Bush's husband is in the hospital. He requires tranfusions.

The Ugly Truth COVER STORY: Exsanguination or draining of blood? A federal judge is demanding that abortion-industry witnesses speak in plain English as he considers one of three challenges to a federal law banning partial-birth abortions. But despite all the sensational testimony and courtroom drama, the major news media are paying no attentionBy Lynn VincentNational Abortion Federation doctors are proving themselves an innovative lot. During testimony on April 6 in a New York courtroom, one abortionist told the presiding judge about a new method she uses to kill late-term babies during partial-birth abortions. Instead of decapitating the child or sucking...

ERUSALEM - After 61 years of pumping blood, Marie Carty's heart was failing her. Months earlier she had given up her two-mile walk on the boardwalk of her New Jersey hometown along the Atlantic Ocean. She could barely make it from the parking lot to the view of the water. Although Carty knew she needed a new heart, she was afraid hers wouldn't last during the long wait for a transplant. Desperate for an alternative, Carty found the Israeli-Thai company Theravitae, which has begun performing an experimental procedure that multiplies stem cells taken from a patient's own blood and injects...

Week of Aug. 12, 2006; Vol. 170, No. 7 , p. 109 Blood sugar and spice Ben Harder Eating cayenne pepper with meals may mitigate a hormonal response that's linked to diabetes, a trial of two diets suggests. To compare the effects on insulin of different patterns of chili pepper consumption, researchers at the University of Tasmania in Launceston, Australia, conducted a study in 36 healthy adults who didn't typically eat chili peppers. Excess insulin production can presage diabetes. For 4 weeks of the study, each volunteer ate his or her usual bland diet, except for one chili-laden meal at...

Just a thought, but with the high number of wounded that Israel both with civilians and the IDF, would it be possible to start a blood drive from Freepers. Any ideas or discussion on this would be appreciated.

The fibers that make up blood clots are more elastic than rubber bands and stretchier than spider webs. They're even tougher than doctors suspected - a discovery that could lead to improved treatment of heart attacks and strokes. Understanding how much these fibers can be stretched before they break should point to better ways to bust up blood clots on demand. Made of a protein called fibrin, the fibers are stretchier than any other naturally occurring ones, even super-stretchy spider silk, concluded researchers who rigged up a double-microscope to measure how tough the tiny strands - 1,000 times smaller than...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - People who ate a low-fat vegan diet, cutting out all meat and dairy, lowered their blood sugar more and lost more weight than people on a standard American Diabetes Association diet, researchers said on Thursday. They lowered their cholesterol more and ended up with better kidney function, according to the report published in Diabetes Care, a journal published by the American Diabetes Association. Participants said the vegan diet was easier to follow than most because they did not measure portions or count calories. Three of the vegan dieters dropped out of the study, compared to eight on...

I am curious how many other States have the new law of them taking blood from lab work for genetic research. We went to the Docs (routine blood work done twice a year for personal health issues) office yesterday and had to sign a consent that we have been explained that under a new Oregon State law any blood drawn once tested for what ever the reason, I have thyroid levels checked, the left over blood will be sent to a lab for genetic testing. Signing the form is your consent, they have a box to check to say NO...

"Are you a male who has had sex, even once, with another male since 1977?" This is one of the questions that all U.S. blood collection facilities must ask when they administer the pre-donation questionnaire to screen potential donors. Anyone answering yes to this question is "indefinitely deferred," or in plain language, banned for life from donating blood. Despite pressure from gay advocates to change it, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has maintained this policy for 22 years. However, the pressure has intensified lately with gay activists successfully stopping college blood drives with cries of "discrimination." Thus, this past...

People wearing traditional costume take part in a Corpus Christi procession in the village of Wackersberg, south of Munich, June 15, 2006. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle (GERMANY) People wearing traditional costume take part in a Corpus Christi procession in the village of Wackersberg, south of Munich, June 15, 2006. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle (GERMANY) People wearing traditional costume take part in a Corpus Christi procession in the village of Wackersberg, south of Munich, June 15, 2006. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle (GERMANY) People wearing traditional costume take part in a Corpus Christi procession in the village of Wackersberg, south of Munich, June 15, 2006. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle (GERMANY)...

Blood, Iron, and Gray HairAnemia in old age is a rising concern Ben Harder The life of a red blood cell is brief but fast paced. Each heartbeat pumps millions of the tiny cells into the body's vascular system at speeds of more than a meter per second. In about a minute, they can carry oxygen from the lungs to tissues in the rest of the body and return to the lungs. And they die before they're 4 months old. The body replaces old red blood cells by generating fresh ones, typically producing about 2 million cells per second. A...

Iraqi police officers conduct drill and ceremony during an Iraqi police graduation at the Imam Police Academy in Najaf, Iraq, May 18, 2006. U.S. Army photo Grads Join Iraqi Police Ranks, Support Blood Drive U.S. soldiers with the 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, were on hand to witness the graduation ceremony. By U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Alexander Callahan 2nd Brigade Combat Team 4th Infantry Divison FORWARD OPERATING BASE DUKE, Iraq, May 19, 2006 — The Imam Ali Police Academy in Najaf hosted a graduation ceremony May 18, inducting more than 280 new...

At the Cross, piano 1. Alas! and did my Savior bleed, and did my Sovereign die? Would he devote that sacred head for sinners such as I? Refrain: At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light, and the burden of my heart rolled away; it was there by faith I received my sight, and now I am happy all the day. 2. Was it for crimes that I have done, he groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity! Grace unknown! And love beyond degree! (Refrain) 3. Well might the sun in darkness hide, and shut its glories...

Iraqi Soldiers Donate Blood to Save Lives Iraqi Army soldiers donated 350 pints of blood to the Baghdad Blood Bank for distribution to numerous medical centers in Iraq. By U.S. Army Spc. Jason Thompson 4th Infantry Division CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq, April 20, 2006 -- Approximately 75 soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, took some time from their dangerous mission of patrolling the streets of Baghdad to offer more service to their nation: donating blood during an Iraqi army blood drive April 5 at Forward Operating Base Justice. "Terrorists are injuring innocent Iraqi people every day. When...

A woman who was pregnant when she was diagnosed with leukemia is alive thanks to a unique transplant of umbilical cord blood from two different donors. It was the first time such a procedure had been performed in Colorado. "There were some times where the odds were stacked against us," Sheila Gannon, a leukemia survivor said. Gannon gave birth to her son Sawyer 2 weeks early so she could start chemotherapy. There were infections and complications during that treatment. No bone marrow match was found. Centers that offer umbilical cord blood rejected Gannon at first because her leukemia wasn't in...

Moraga Biotechnology Corp. discovers a new method for isolating and purifying embryonic-like adult stem cells in the blood Moraga Biotechnology Corporation, an adult stem cell company based in Los Angeles, California, announces the discovery of its proprietary Blastomere-Like Stem Cells (BLSCs) circulating in the peripheral blood of mammals. The Company's scientists found that these adult stem cells were able to differentiate into most tissues and organs of the body.  The Company's scientists have developed a proprietary and cost-effective method for isolating and purifying large numbers of its primitive embryonic- like stem cells from the blood without ex vivo expansion. Moraga recently...

MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO (March 31, 2006) -- Representatives from the Blood Donor Center at Naval Medical Center San Diego are scheduled to make an appearance at the depot’s safety fair for an annual blood drive April 6. Every weekend, NMCSD gathers blood from recruits in training, but only receives blood from permanent personnel quarterly. Due to the war on terrorism, blood is in high demand and necessary for hospitals in war zones. Beyond the need for blood is the need for blood platelets. Blood can be broken down into three parts: plasma, cells and platelets. While the...

Gotta love that old-time religion. Some 300 Muslim scholars and clerics met in Bahrain yesterday to map out a plan to educate us infidels about the Prophet — and a prominent sheik at the conference called for the UN to "issue strong rules that would criminalize the defamation of religion." While this sanctimonious gabfest was going on, 40-year-old Abdul Rahman was sitting in an Afghanistan jail cell facing possible execution for the capital offence of converting to Christianity. If the irony was lost on the Holy 300, it's no wonder. Muslim clerics can wring their hands to pieces about how...

MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO (Feb. 3, 2006) -- Two brothers have more in common than blood today as Company K graduates. Pvt. Harjay Lacanilao was welcomed to recruit training by his older brother, Sgt. Harvey Lacanilao, a drill instructor in his company. When Harvey graduated from boot camp in 1999, Harjay had no aspirations to join the armed forces. After his graduation from Pacific High School in 2004, Harjay attended San Bernardino Community College and worked for Sears. His goal was to be a professional singer. On Jan. 17, 2005, Harjay attended his big brother’s Drill Instructor School...

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (AP) _ An anti-war protester who vandalized a military recruiting office with human blood drew a four-month prison sentence Friday. Teresa Grady, 40, was the last of four defendants to be sentenced in U.S. District Court. The Ithaca residents, members of Catholic Workers, were convicted in September of misdemeanor charges of trespassing and damaging governmental property.

Daniel Burns, one of the "St. Patrick's Four" war protesters, was sentenced in federal court Monday (January 23). Burns, 44, was sentenced to six months in jail, fined $250 and ordered to pay part of the $958 of damages caused by the protest. He was sentenced by Judge Thomas J. McAvoy in Binghamton Federal Court four months after being found guilty of two misdemeanor crimes. Burns, along with fellow Ithacans Peter DeMott and Clare and Teresa Grady, entered a Lansing military recruiting station on St. Patrick's Day 2003 and poured vials of their blood on posters, an American flag and...

South Africa's blood supply service today slammed gays who gave blood this week without revealing their sexual status to protest the policy of turning away donations by homosexuals. Some 120 members of the Johannesburg-based Gay and Lesbian Alliance (GLA) on Friday donated blood at clinics in response to a statement by the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) asking gays not to do so. The group's members lied about their sexual status on an admission form and only after donating blood told the SANBS that 65 per cent of them had engaged in high-risk sexual behaviour and were unsure of...

Factor 8 - The Arkansas Prison Blood Scandal

<p>GULFPORT - It's hard to tell who actually gave the Christmas present to whom on a recent hunting trip or who really received it. The bottom line is neither Tim Magee of Gulfport nor his eight-year old son, Will Magee, will every forget the 2005 Christmas season. You see, Tim was sitting in a ground blind when his son, a third-grader at Westminster Academy in Gulfport, bagged his first deer, a solid eight-pointer that weighed 170 pounds - dressed. And they have the experience on video tape. "It was his first deer and everyone likes to be with their son or daughter when they kill their first deer," Tim Magee said. "It was more fun watching him kill the deer than me shooting it." Will Magee, however, did give his dad a little credit. But not much. "It was kind of good having him there, I guess," he said. The young Magee was hunting a field in Urichville, Ohio, which is near Columbus. He was using a gun (7mm/08) that was handed down to him by his sister, Lauren, who killed her first deer when she was 13 while hunting with her dad in Alabama. Will Magee bagged the deer on the second day of a scheduled three-day hunt on a portion of land that belongs to a Christian organization called Questhaven (Questhaven.com). The first day, while hunting on a tree stand, two bucks walked out of the thicket. But the deer remained at the furthermost part of the field, meaning Magee didn't have a sure shot and didn't want to risk it. The second day was all Magee. Just before dark, the eight-point stepped out of the thicket, but instantly smelled the hunters who were down wind from the feeder. Frustrated, the deer left the feeder for a brief moment and ran into the thicket before entering the field again. At this point, the deer was mad and looked right at the Magees. In fact, the deer rubbed the ground as if it were going to charge before snorting at Will and stepping behind the feeder. It was at this moment that Will Magee raised the rifle to his shoulder, determined to wait the deer out. Either darkness was going to set in or the deer was going to find itself face down in the grass. Will Magee, only eight, wasn't giving in. The deer then emerged from behind the feeder. Tim Magee, perhaps more anxious than his son, wondered if his son was going to pull the trigger. "Just when I was signalling to him, he shot," he said. "A perfect shot right through the shoulder. The deer never moved, just fell to the ground." With the deer on the ground, dad looked back to see his son's expression. "He had his hands over his ears," Tim Magee said. "His ears were ringing from the echo." But that was fine. A young hunter had been baptized into the great outdoors and he was feeling it. "It was great," Will Magee said. "It was my first deer, but I thought I was going to miss it. My dad was taping it and all I saw on the tape was his fur flying around. "I was feeling like I needed to scream up and down. The doe that was with the deer ran off like there was a fire. She was out of there. I was telling myself, 'you shot a deer, you shot a deer.' The deer is headed to the taxidermist. "Will is a real cautious hunter," Tim Magee said. "He will not pull off on a shot. He is really good and hits the targets when we practice. He puts the bullet right where it needs to go. "I don't know who was excited the most when the deer fell to the ground."</p>

GENEVA, NY—A group of anti-war protesters who threw blood on a soldier, a recruiting station and the U.S. flag will deliver a lecture at Hobart and William Smith campuses today.According to a campus press release, the four Ithaca residents-- Daniel Burns, Peter DeMott, Clare Grady and Teresa Grady--are expected to address students on “the use of unconventional politics as a means for political organizing and resistance in a time of war and in a time of the Patriot Act.”In addition, the group’s sponsor, Professor Craig Rimmerman of the HWS political science department, hopes to ask the group "what they were...

Blood debt women offered up for rape By Isambard Wilkinson in Sultanwala (Filed: 22/11/2005) A village council in Pakistan has decreed that five young women should be abducted, raped or killed for refusing to honour childhood "marriages". The women, who are cousins, were married in absentia by a mullah in their Punjabi village to illiterate sons of their family's enemies in 1996, when they were aged from six to 13. The marriages were part of a compensation agreement ordered by the village council and reached at gunpoint after the father of one of the girls shot dead a family rival....

An e-mail is bouncing around the Internet with photographs of alleged Bolivarian gunmen in an area of Caracas that appears to be 23 de Enero. Many appear to be teenagers, they are wearing Bolivarian t-shirts with Che Guevara's face super-imposed on Venezuela's national colors, and they are armed with Glock 9mm semi-automatic handguns. According to Pensamiento Militar Venezolano 2005, a strategic and tactical military defense document drafted under the direction of President Hugo Chávez, the core mission of these armed youths is to turn Caracas into a kill zone where escualidos will be hunted down systematically if the Chávez regime...

I have not read Dracula ever again. I was ashamed of myself. Here I was, a 2nd lieutenant of Marines, fresh out of OCS, going to fight those Japanese SOB's, and just think, I let a book of fiction scare me like that.

Tonight, HBO-HD (HBO 1) shows Rome Episodes 6, 7, 8 in a run up to the new episode "Utica". Episode 6: Egeria Synopsis With Caesar chasing Pompey in Greece, Mark Antony is in Rome pushing through laws on his behalf - insisting that the few remaining senators agree to anoint the general "co-Consul," free more slaves and create more jobs for the populace. The senior senator protests, arguing that such efforts would be too expensive. "Only to those few rich men that own all the land," Antony replies, "and they will have the consolation of doing something eminently patriotic." Niobe...

October 21, 2005 -- A human red blood cell is a dimpled ballerina, ceaselessly spinning, tumbling, bending, and squeezing through openings narrower than its width to dispense life-giving oxygen to every corner of the body. In a paper published in the October issue of Annals of Biomedical Engineering, which was made available online on Oct. 21, a team of UCSD researchers describe a mathematical model that explains how a mesh-like protein skeleton gives a healthy human red blood cell both its rubbery ability to stretch without breaking, and a potential mechanism to facilitate diffusion of oxygen across its membrane. “Red...