Adult stem cells come from various sources and contrary to what the name may suggest, it does not only come from fully grown human beings. It is just that they are comparatively grown and different than the embryonic stem cells. The placenta and the umbilical cord blood are both rich sources of adult stem cells, the former being even richer than the latter. Our bone marrow contains multipotent stem cells and it is possible to extract these cells clinically, but the procedure is immensely painful for the donor and may even be considered risky. Unlike the extraction of the embryonic stem cells, extracting adult stem cells is not controversial. Ethicists do not support the killing of an embryo for the sake of medical progress, however bright the future may seem, but bio ethicists do understand the importance of stem cell experimentation and thus do not consider extraction of adult stem cells from various sources to be unethical as long as it is agreed upon voluntarily by the donor or the guardian of the concerned source.

The key factor about stem cells is that they are capable of constant rejuvenation through mitotic cell division and since they are not functional cells, they can transform into any specific type of functional cell, depending on the requirement of the body. Studies related to the possible uses of stem cells in various medical procedures is achieving greater importance with every passing year as scientists keep publishing journals on how the progress is going to improve treatment facilities dramatically. From the ability to repair almost any damaged organ to eliminating previously incurable diseases like cancer or Parkinson’s disease, it all seems to be in our reach in the near future. In order for the experiments to be successful, scientists must collect necessary amounts of stem cells from various sources. Embryonic stem cells are collected directly from the inside of the blastocyst, roughly a week or so after the egg cell is fertilized, and it is for that reason it is called unethical and have given rise to controversies regarding the extraction of embryonic stem cells. The germline tissues of the abandoned fetus are also a source of stem cell collection. Umbilical cord blood and placenta are the two other sources for collecting adult stem cells. Although not as pluripotent as the stem cells inside an embryo, the adult stem cells are also extracted by scientists from tissues and bone marrow of individuals for different purposes.

The first part of the procedure involves applying sufficient magnetic nanoparticles on the stem cells to magnetize them, and thus make them controllable. Secondly, these special stem cells are now inserted into the blood stream of the subject with the help of an injection. The final and the most important part of the medical procedure begins next as experts now try to control the direction of the injected magnetic stem cells with the help of a magnet in order to lead them towards the accurate area of the heart damage or anywhere else inside the vascular system for recovery. MRI scans in the USA make use of the same nanomagnets to attain better results already. It is to be noted that the use of magnetic stem cells has a very broad spectrum as far as medical prowess is concerned. From cell therapy to targeting cancerous growths, the scope of using the nanomagnets on stem cells is plenty for repairing the diseased and the injured tissues from inside the body.

1. Plasma – Plasma constitutes about 55% of the total blood volume and comprises of 92% water roughly. The rest includes dissolved proteins, salts, sugar, lipids, vitamins, fat, minerals, enzymes, antibodies, hormones and coagulants. Plasma provides mobility to the blood cells that remain suspended in it and it is due to the mobility which the plasma provides blood with, that the cells are able to receive oxygen and other nutrients from blood constantly, while excreting carbon dioxide and other wastes into it at the same time. Without the blood cells, plasma itself is a mostly clear, yellowish liquid.

2. Blood Cells – Blood cells can be divided into three major types, white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets.

a) White Blood Cells – White blood cells or leukocytes are rare in number and constitute approximately 1% of the total blood volume. There is more than one type of white blood cell and all of them together make up our immune system. Unlike the red blood cells which are found in blood only, the leukocytes are also found in the spleen, liver and the lymph glands.

b) Red Blood Cells – Erythrocytes (RBC) constitute almost half of the blood volume and their main function is to use the hemoglobin in them to carry dissolved oxygen to the cells and also to carry carbon dioxide from the cells for elimination.

c) Platelets – Like the erythrocytes, platelets do not have nuclei either, and their main function is to stop blood from flowing out of the vessels by releasing coagulating agents near the rupture. Release of proteins that help the immune system to fight with germs is also found to be a function of these cellular fragments recently.

A test which determines the amount of ketones present in the blood of the person is called the serum ketones test. The test is mainly done to check whether the ketogenesis within the person’s body is above the normal level, which may indicate ketosis. Ketosis is not harmful at the beginning, but there remains a chance that the frequency of ketogenesis in blood may increase further to a point when the patient’s blood might turn acidic due to a very low pH level. Such an advanced stage is termed as ketoacidosis. The chances of ketoacidosis are high among diabetic patients and thus they check their blood often for increased ketone formation.

Blood serum is used for many diagnostic tests like the HCG test to determine pregnancy. Through testing one’s blood serum, one can come to know of the levels of protein in his/her blood, which is often done to check if the patient is suffering from malnutrition. Low protein levels in one’s blood may also help to determine the cause of kidney problems. On the contrary, boosted levels of alpha- 1 type proteins can be responsible for rheumatoid arthritis. Some of the common tests that require the blood serum rather than the blood cells include tests for sugar and cholesterol levels. As the serum still contains the hormones that the plasma was carrying, it is also used to check thyroid, insulin and other hormonal levels, depending on the nature and the objective of the medical test.

A non-diagnostic use of serum is as a component in the person’s own eye drops. They work better than regular eye drops and do not cause allergies for the patient. Apart from the current uses of the blood serum as a diagnostic medium, other more advanced diagnostic tests are also on the verge of development, namely, the early detection of diseases like Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s, which are incurable as of now.

Blood pressure is not the same throughout, for example, the veins and capillaries in our feet have way more pressure inside them than the ones in our head, and gravity is responsible for this particular variation. When we get hypertensive, our blood vessels experience increased hydrostatic pressure on them due to increase of blood flow; it is at this point that arteriosclerosis occurs and as a result, the blood vessels become very hard in order to withstand the high blood pressure.

Blood is essential for us to survive because blood carries all the necessary nutrients along with other materials, both in and out of our cells in a constant circulatory motion. This motion in blood would not be possible without a difference in blood pressure inside the blood vessels and this difference is achieved because there is just one pump that pumps blood, the heart. As the heart pumps blood and the blood passes through the left ventricle all the way to different parts of the body before returning back into the heart through the right atrium, the pressure keeps dropping and is at its lowest point when it re-enters the heart and at its highest immediately after it is pumped out by the heart.

The main function of the blood plasma when it is inside the body is to provide the blood and its other components with mobility. It is this mobility of the blood plasma that serves the entire body in vital ways. The plasma circulates to all parts of the body, while the cells constantly acquire nutrients from and excrete the waste materials into it. As the blood plasma travels throughout the entire body, it continuously replenishes its contents to keep the organism functioning as a whole by serving the needs of all the cells inside the body. Pathogens and germs that are harmful to the body are attacked by the blood cells carried by blood plasma as it circulates. Perhaps the most visible effect of plasma that we see in practice is clotting of blood when we cut ourselves by coagulating agents that it carries. The blood serum, which is essential for most blood diagnostic tests, is obtained by removing coagulants, blood cells and fibrinogens from the plasma.

Due to the Popularity of the Blood Gulch level, it made its reappearance as “Coagulation” in the second Halo game. Also in Halo 3, one cannot help but notice a huge similarity between Blood Gulch and “Valhalla”. “Halo Wars” also had Blood Gulch as a level in the multiplayer mode, but it was only in “Halo: Reach” that the developers added much more to the famous multiplayer arena by providing more area for gameplay even outside the Blood Gulch canyon.

Red vs. Blue, which gave the Blood Gulch scenario the popularity it has today, was created by Rooster Teeth Productions as a parody on first-person shooters mainly. As the online videos and DVDs gained a lot of popularity, the project was expanded and it continues till date in form of a mini-series. However, “Red vs. Blue: The Blood Gulch chronicles”, which is the original series that started in 2003, finished after its one hundredth episode on June 28th, 2007.