Blood has a very short shelf life, even under the best of conditions—and you can picture the less-than-ideal conditions where blood is frequently needed—which is why scientists have been working on a blood alternative. The results are promising.

Guest: Nicky Twilley, host of “Gastropod” podcast and author of Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet and Ourselves.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther.

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What Next | Could Artificial Blood Save Lives?