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There's this vampire movie coming out called Morbius.

I'm not really too sure what it's about.

I watched the trailer.

I was kinda confused.

Haven't really studied up on the character, but I know he's a vampire and I'm pretty sure

a biochemist?

and as a biochemist, Morbius actually has a lot in common with real-world scientists.

For one, he's not the first to explore human blood as a cure for disease.

Though, of course, no real scientist has ever turned themselves or a patient into a living

vampire through these attempted cures.

And, so far, none of these attempts have actually cured any illnesses–though we are getting

closer.

But these trials do show the level of fascination that humans have had with their own blood

over the centuries.

And we'll get into that, but first, are we sure vampires aren't real?

Yes, we are.

However, there are people who act a lot like vampires.

The vampire myth is thought to have originated as an explanation for certain unpleasant diseases

that mimic vampire traits.,

For instance, what is now known as porphyria causes rashes or blisters to develop on the

skin when exposed to sunlight.

And rabies causes light sensitivity, aggression, and biting.

And while there's no evidence that anyone has actually needed to drink human blood to

live, people have been drinking it since the first century AD to try to cure illnesses,

particularly epilepsy.,

The belief in the curative properties of blood was either linked to religion, from the testimony

of a cured patient, or even by a doctor.

Today, people who drink human blood are called “sanguinarians,” or “real vampires.”

Unlike our blood-hungry ancestors who drank the blood of people who were recently killed,

today's sanguinarians drink the blood of willing donors believing that it will cure

an illness or make them stronger.

Clinically, their compulsion to drink blood is referred to as Renfield's syndrome, named

after a character in Dracula.

It's a very rare disorder and there's been very little study on it, but some scientists

believe it may be a psychiatric illness.

However, drinking human blood comes with some complications.

Mainly, humans don't have the right mechanisms needed to digest it and the high levels of

iron can be toxic.,

But there are ways scientists are using blood as a medical tool.

Blood transfusions, for instance, save countless lives each year.

And scientists are now finding that they can also be used to treat diseases associated

with aging.

In 2005, researchers discovered that by connecting the circulatory systems of young and old mice,

the tissues in old mice were rejuvenated by the blood of young mice.

Later, the same results were found to occur after a single blood transfusion.

These discoveries have led to further investigations into the properties of young blood in order

to determine what components are causing this aging reversal and how they can be applied

to patients.

Several clinical studies are already underway on patients with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's

diseases after studies on mice found that giving young plasma to old mice led to improved

cognition.,

But we may not even need to use other people's blood.

New research on mice has shown that by simply diluting one's own plasma, similar anti-aging

effects are achieved.

So, while drinking blood won't do you any good, one day soon, we may be using blood

transfusions or plasma modifications to combat age-related diseases and eventually even to

help us live longer.

None of this is really gonna apply to me because I bleed binary, but I think it's really cool

that you humans have this.

back to me on the couch.

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as always my name is block, this has been life noggin, don't forget to keep on thinking!