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As a result, those clinical trials were discontinued and progress in blood substitute research slowed down.

“Earthworm hemoglobin has many favorable adaptations that makes it a great blood substitute candidate,” Elmer said, “and preliminary studies have shown that they can safely deliver oxygen in mice and hamsters without the adverse effects of cow and human hemoglobin.”

The ideal prototype of a blood substitute aims to overcome these limitations.

As Holmes documents, Office of Science and Research Development Director Vannevar Bush’s vision of mobilizing science for the war effort led to the development and deployment not only of the fuse, but also of Allied landing craft, a blood substitute, penicillin, and radar-jamming technology, to name just a few of the innovations from “Bush’s army of researchers” within the OSRD.

The system Sestan and his colleague developed, called BrainEx, comprises three elements: a computerized system of pumps, filters and reservoirs; a blood substitute containing no cells but capable of carrying oxygen, along with numerous compounds designed to protect cells; and a surgical procedure to hook everything up.