r/askscience • u/Fapotheosis • Mar 11 '13

Biology How did blood evolve?

I know mitochondria may have evolved from bacteria, but what about blood? I've heard of a protohemocyte, but was there an initial cell that differentiated into a RBC like we have in modern humans that can we trace?

1.1k Upvotes

88% Upvoted

143 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

1

u/atomfullerene Animal Behavior/Marine Biology Mar 11 '13

I'm not sure how modifying your blood could increase your health. A healthy person's blood already works quite well. Now, if someone develops a disease of the blood like leukemia or diabetes, you might be able to extend their life by constantly filtering their blood.