6 Minute English The wonder of blood

• Play Pause
• Mute
• 00:00

What part of our body have scientists discovered can heal and help us?

For centuries, people have known that human blood is a remarkable substance. But they never really knew just how complex it was. Modern science is now showing us all the amazing things it does. Rob and Finn talk about how detailed research into blood's properties has given us all sorts of new ways to heal our bodies and improve the quality of our lives.

This week's question

If you laid out all the blood vessels in an adult body end to end how long would they be?
a) 30,000 miles
b) 100,000 miles
c) 200,000 miles
Listen to the programme to find out the answer.

Vocabulary

faint
lose consciousness
rejuvenate
give new life
transfusion
a medical procedure where an amount of blood is put into a human

cholesterol-high
a lot of a substance that contains fat and is found in the body tissue and blood of all animals
veins, arteries
tubes that carry blood from the heart and around the body
clotting
forming a solid lump
accelerate
go faster
treated
changed or transformed
probed
investigated
adapt
change in an appropriate way

Transcript

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript
Rob
Hello, I'm Rob. Welcome to 6 Minute English. With me today is Finn. Hello, Finn.
FinnHi Rob!
RobIn this programme we're going to be talking about blood.
FinnYes. Blood? Did I ever tell you, Rob, that I really hate the sight of blood? And I've even been known to faint – that's to lose consciousness - at the sight of a needle.
RobCome on, Finn. I think you've got a lot to learn. You wouldn't be here without it, you know! It's a fascinating topic. All sorts of discoveries are being made these days, which could change medical science for ever.
FinnYes. Well, you are right, of course. Blood was even thought to relate to human character. People were hot-bloodied – quick to anger – or cold-bloodied – lacking in passion.
RobThere were all the myths about vampires when young blood was thought to revitalise older people. There's a dreadful story that a Hungarian countess had hundreds of young women killed so she could bathe in their blood and stay youthful-looking.
FinnRight. OK. And in Roman times, if a young gladiator died in battle, people used to drink his blood because they thought it would keep them healthy.
RobFor 3,000 years, people have been cut or given leeches to let out the blood because they thought that would make people better. Incredibly, it carried on until the 19th century. But it actually made people worse, or even killed them.
FinnSo I won't be doing that today.
RobOK. Instead, how about answering a question all about blood Finn?
FinnGo on then.
RobIf you laid out all the blood vessels in an adult body end to end how long would they be? Would they be…
a)      30,000 miles
b)      100,000 miles or
c)      200,000 miles long?
FinnWell, let's say 100,000 miles. That's b).
RobOK. Well, we'll see if you got the right answer at the end of the programme. OK, well let's talk more about blood now. We've heard about blood in history but Finn, did you know that today beauticians are running businesses in which people pay to have their blood extracted, then injected into their face?
FinnYes I have heard about this. It's thought to rejuvenate – that's to give new life to - their skin. Michael Mosley has had just that done to his face as an experiment. He's a doctor and presenter with the BBC. Let's listen to him talking about it. He uses an expression that means "go faster". Can you tell me what it is?
Michael Mosley, TV presenter and doctorSometimes known as the Vampire Facelift, PRP – Platelet Rich Plasma therapy – claims to accelerate healing and reverse the signs of ageing. First my blood is treated to make a concentrated solution of platelets in plasma. Next, this is injected directly into my face.
FinnOuch! And the word he used was "accelerate". Now that means to make faster.
RobAnd he said they "treated" his blood. This means "changed or transformed" it.
FinnWell, today, of course, controlled blood transfusion is a completely normal medical practice that saves countless lives. And blood donors – the people who give their blood – are an important part of healthcare.
RobYes, Finn, but there's all sorts of other amazing things that blood can do. If we are running at altitude – high up - the limbs get tired because there's not enough oxygen. The blood then starts creating new red cells and pours them into the system. That's why athletes often train in the mountains.
FinnAltitude training, isn't it? And, apparently, the different types of food you eat have an immediate effect on your blood, or rather the element of blood called plasma. So, if you eat a cholesterol-high breakfast, for example, very soon after that you can see the fat in the blood.
RobNice. Ideas about how blood moves around your body have changed a lot over the years too. The Romans thought blood flowed one way and came out of our feet and hands and was then burnt away. But William Harvey in the 17thcentury found that blood circulated via veins and arteries – these are the tubes in our body where blood is carried around.
FinnAnd let's not forget clotting – that's when the blood hardens. If our blood didn't clot when we cut ourselves we'd be dead within minutes. It is really fascinating isn't it? And we're just beginning to understand stem cells. These are also in the blood and are used to repair various organs in the body
RobModern science is really helping us to understand blood properly for the first time and showing us the way forward.
FinnNow Rob, before my blood boils, could you let me know the answer to the quiz question Rob?
RobYes. So, I asked you if you laid out all the blood vessels in an adult body end to end how long would they be: 30,000 miles, 100,000 miles or 200,000 miles?
FinnWell, I said 100,000 miles.
RobWow. And you know your blood vessels, because you got that question right.
FinnWell, I measured them earlier.
RobGood. And how do you feel about blood now?
FinnWell, I'm probably a bit scared of it still. But now that I know all of these wonderful things that it does, I really get why it's so important.
RobGreat. So, let's remind ourselves of some of the words we've said today, Finn.
FinnHere we are:
faint
rejuvenate
transfusion
cholesterol-high
veins and arteries
clotting
accelerate
treated
RobThank you. Well, that's it for today.

100 Level Learn english Speaking fast 1 month with Bacitikdaithanh

speaking english practice, speaking english fluently, speaking english fluently in 10 days, speaking english conversation, speaking english fluently tutorial, speaking english practice in india, speaking english practice videos, speaking english course, speaking english with subtitle, speaking english in hindi, speaking english advanced pronunciation, speaking english activity, speaking english at work, speaking english about family, speaking english accent, speaking english at the airport, speaking english australia, speaking english advanced, speaking english american accent, speaking english and khmer, a french speaking english, speaking english basic, speaking english beginner, speaking english british, speaking english bts, speaking english backwards, speaking english badly, speaking english by niharika, speaking english bangla, speaking english - bad habits, speaking english bbc, bobby team b speaking english, block b speaking english, team b speaking english, zico block b speaking english, kyung block b speaking english, jazzy b speaking english, m.i.b speaking english, b.i speaking english, b.a.p speaking english, b.i.g speaking english, speaking english conversation practice, speaking english comedy, speaking english course in bangla, speaking english class, speaking english confidently, speaking english contest, speaking english children, speaking english course in hindi, c clown rome speaking english, c clown speaking english, c.a.p speaking english, c ronaldo speaking english, speaking english dan artinya, speaking english daily, speaking english denis drolet, wooyoung speaking english dream high, g dragon speaking english, danny ahn speaking english, dutch accent speaking english, dara speaking english, d.o speaking english, dilma rousseff speaking english, simon d speaking english, g.o.d speaking english, d.o exo speaking english, d.o speaking english samsung, d.o speaking english 2014, speaking english everyday, speaking english exercises, speaking english easily, speaking english exam, speaking english easy, speaking english english, bts speaking english eng sub, austin powers speaking english english, kai speaking english exo, kris speaking english exo, san e speaking english, e vidyarthi english speaking, e.den lc9 speaking english, speaking english for kids, speaking english fluently and confidently, speaking english funny, speaking english fluently practice, speaking english for beginners, speaking english fluently ielts, speaking english funny videos, f(x) amber speaking english, f(x) speaking english, f(x) sulli speaking english, f(x) luna speaking english, f(x) victoria speaking english, speaking english grammar, speaking english game, 2pm speaking english game, mark speaking english got7, japanese speaking english game show, jackson speaking english got7, kpop speaking english game, german accent speaking english, got7 speaking english, ns yoon g speaking english, tiny g speaking english, g.na speaking english, g dragon speaking english 2014, g.na speaking english to kyuhyun, g.e.m speaking english, g dragon speaking english kcon 2014, speaking english how to answer the phone, speaking english how to say p f b v, speaking english how to say ch & sh, speaking english hindi, speaking english - how to count syllables, lauren speaking english hello baby, tablo speaking english haru, learn english speaking through hindi, hindi to english speaking course full, how learn english speaking, speaking english ielts, speaking english in japan, speaking english ielts test, speaking english in korea, speaking english in france, speaking english in germany, speaking english indonesia, speaking english in quebec, speaking english in canada, speaking english japanese, speaking english japan, shinee speaking english jonghyun, xi jinping speaking english, jackson got7 speaking english, jessica speaking english, super junior speaking english, jay park speaking english, bts jungkook speaking english, bts jin speaking english, may j speaking english, shorry j speaking english, crown j speaking english, lucky j speaking english, j hope speaking english, j balvin speaking english, speaking english khmer, speaking english kpop, speaking english kids, speaking english korean, jyp speaking english kpop star, exo speaking english kai, ailee speaking english korean, nicole speaking english kara, iu speaking english kcon, kai exo k speaking english, exo k speaking english, jun k speaking english, 2pm jun k speaking english, k idols speaking english, k-on speaking english, k will speaking english, k-idols speaking english eng sub, speaking english lesson 1, speaking english like a native speaker, speaking english learning, speaking english lesson, speaking english like an american, speaking english language, speaking english learning videos, speaking english lessons for beginners, speaking english lesson in hindi.english grammar.spoken english-fluent and confident lvl 1 lesson 5-a, speaking english lectures, infinite l speaking english, l.joe speaking english, l.joe speaking english weekly idol, speaking english muet, speaking english movies, speaking english malayalam, scottish people speaking english maybe, messi speaking english, angela merkel speaking english, kiko mizuhara speaking english, martina stoessel speaking english, wow mali english speaking kariton, got7 mark speaking english, luhan exo m speaking english, exo m speaking english, b m english speaking, speaking english naturally, speaking english niharika, speaking english news, aron speaking english nu'est, nichkhun speaking english, neymar speaking english, nepali actress speaking english, lets talk english speaking niharika, norwegian accent speaking english, nadech kugimiya speaking english, vixx n speaking english, speaking english online, speaking english on phone, bts speaking english on plane, online english speaking course free, english lectures on speaking, oxford english speaking course, onew speaking english, speaking old english, ok taecyeon speaking english, exo d.o speaking english, exo d.o speaking english compilation, mblaq g.o speaking english, speaking english practice for beginners, speaking english practice in hindi, speaking english practice with subtitle, speaking english practice for kids, speaking english practice ielts, speaking english practice toefl, speaking english practice in india in hindi, t.o.p speaking english, t.o.p speaking english interview, t.o.p speaking english 2014, p j joseph speaking english, english speaking p, speaking english quickly, queen letizia speaking english, queen maxima speaking english, queen beatrix speaking english, sultan qaboos speaking english, queen silvia speaking english, queen mathilde speaking english, queen sirikit speaking english, queen sofia speaking english, quebecois speaking english, speaking english ronnie, wendy speaking english red velvet, park bom speaking english roommate, exo speaking english ranking, roy kim speaking english, cristiano ronaldo speaking english, ronaldo speaking english, rain speaking english, russian speaking english, red velvet speaking english, t r speaking english, speaking english slowly, speaking english skill, speaking english subtitles, speaking english story, speaking english song, practice speaking english skills, learn english speaking english subtitles, henry speaking english super junior, exo speaking english sehun, improve english speaking skills, speaking english, speaking english tutorial, speaking english topics, speaking english tips, speaking english to strangers, speaking english test, speaking english to koreans, speaking english to japanese, speaking english to foreigners, speaking english to bangla, speaking english to russians, zion t speaking english, t-ara speaking english, t rajendar speaking english, t-ara dani speaking english, t s madaan english speaking, speaking english uk, speaking english usa, speaking english urdu, uk english speaking practice, urdu to english speaking course full, u kiss speaking english, usa english speaking practice, english urdu speaking course, us english speaking practice, urassaya sperbund speaking english, u kiss jun speaking english, u kiss aj speaking english, u kiss kevin speaking english, u kiss eli speaking english, u kiss dongho speaking english, u-know yunho speaking english, u kiss alexander speaking english, speaking english video, speaking english very fast, speaking english vocabulary, speaking english video in hindi, how to speaking english very well, funny speaking english video, learning speaking english video, vijaykanth english speaking comedy, vladimir putin speaking english, british english speaking videos, v speaking english bts, bangtan boys v speaking english, bangtan v speaking english, v s achuthanandan speaking english, speaking english with a spanish accent, speaking english with american accent, speaking english with a german accent, speaking english with russian accent, speaking english with confidence, speaking english with strangers, speaking english with misterduncan, speaking english with text, speaking english with british accent, exo speaking english xiumin, xiumin speaking english, xavi speaking english, xabi alonso speaking english, ximena duque speaking english, xiah junsu speaking english, bo xilai speaking english, xi jinping speaking english in india, amber f(x) speaking english, winner speaking english yg, bobby speaking english yg, yoochun speaking english, yuki furukawa speaking english, gong yoo speaking english, aaron yan speaking english, yong hwa speaking english, yoona speaking english, joon young speaking english, park yoochun speaking english, zhoumi speaking english, zelo speaking english, zico speaking english, jiang zemin speaking english, zea kevin speaking english, zidane speaking english, zlatan ibrahimovic speaking english, bap zelo speaking english, zhao wei speaking english, momoiro clover z speaking english, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 01, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 02, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 05, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 03, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 04, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 09, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 06, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 08, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 07, learn english speaking lesson 01, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 11, english speaking practice title 1, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 12, english conversation - learn english speaking - part 10, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 10, 15& speaking english, jimin 15& speaking english, 1tym teddy speaking english, top 10 english speaking countries, english speaking part 1, english speaking practice lesson 1, learn english speaking 1, english speaking practice 1, english speaking english conversation lesson 1, english speaking practice part 1, english speaking class 1, english speaking for grade 1, tiffany speaking english 2014, jessica speaking english 2014, taeyang speaking english 2014, tablo speaking english 2014, gd speaking english 2014, 2ne1 speaking english 2014, rain speaking english 2014, neymar speaking english 2014, tiffany snsd speaking english 2014, hassan 2 speaking english, invincible youth 2 speaking english, roommate season 2 speaking english, english speaking practice title 2, english speaking lesson 2, 2pm speaking english, learn english speaking 2, english speaking practice title 3, 30 days english speaking course, sims 3 speaking english, english speaking lesson 3, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 30, 4minute speaking english, english speaking practice title 4, the sims 4 speaking english, learn english speaking 4, english speaking practice 4, english speaking lesson 4, 4 minute speaking english, english speaking practice title 5, 5zic speaking english, english speaking practice 5, english speaking practice title 6, english speaking lesson 6, english speaking practice title 7, english speaking 7 rules, speaking english subtitle part 7, english speaking practice title 8, 9muses sera speaking english, english speaking practice title 9, 96neko speaking english, 9 muses sera speaking english, english speaking practice title 10, learn english speaking 10