Discover how the white-blooded icefish's unique adaptations to Antarctica's frigid waters are revolutionising our understanding of organ preservation and oxygen delivery in critical care medicine.
The white-blooded fish (or icefish) has icy white blood, a phenomenon that puzzled scientists for decades.
Thriving in Antarctica’s frigid depths, it lacks the red blood cells essential for oxygen transport in humans. Instead, it carries blood proteins that act like antifreeze and prevent ice crystal formation in its organs.
Not only is this unique adaptation a great example of life’s solutions to environmental challenges, it also has implications for medical science, particularly in the storage of organs (on ice) prior to transplantation and the management of patients with inadequate oxygen delivery to their organs.
Understanding the white-blooded fish’s survival mechanisms could lead to better care of those in a life-threatening state.
The only known vertebrate to lack red blood cells
Discover our series on medical innovations rooted in nature's remarkable adaptations...
From giraffe-inspired ventilators and koalas' digestive wisdom, to frog-based life-support systems, we explore how the animal kingdom shapes human healthcare.
We also explore midge-like painless injections, crane-derived temperature control, white-blooded fish cold resistance, whale-mimicking heart treatments, what ants taught humans about managing a pandemic, and longevity secrets from naked mole rats. Join us as we uncover how wildlife continues to revolutionise medicine.
Matt Morgan is an intensive care medicine consultant at the University Hospital of Wales. His latest book, One Medicine, is published by Simon and Schuster.