A new discovery has revealed that haemoglobin isn’t used by red blood cells (RBCs) alone.
Key points
- Scientists from China have reported that chondrocytes (cells that make cartilage-the connecting tissue between bones) also make haemoglobin and seem to depend on it for their survival.
- Haemoglobin is found in the red blood cells (RBCs), that it makes blood red, carries oxygen, and is essential for our survival.
- According to the scientists, the chondrocytes within the growth plates of newborn mice were not only producing large amounts of haemoglobin, but also that it was coalescing and forming large blobs without a membrane. The scientists called these blobs haemoglobin bodies, or Hedy.
- In RBCs, haemoglobin carries oxygen and makes sure that different parts of the body receive the oxygen to function correctly.
Haemoglobin (Hb)
- Haemoglobin (Hb) is a protein found in the red blood cells that carries oxygen in your body and gives blood its red colour.
- Haemoglobin levels vary from person to person.
- Men usually have higher levels than women.
- Normal ranges for haemoglobin differ between ethnic populations, and males and females, and are also affected by age, especially in women.
