Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • Rob: Hello, I'm Rob. Welcome to 6 Minute English.

  • With me today is Finn. Hello, Finn.

  • Finn: Hi Rob!

  • Rob: In this programme we're going to be talking about blood.

  • Finn: Yes. 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.

  • Rob: Come 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.

  • Finn: Yes. Well, you are right, of course.

  • Blood was even thought to relate to human character.

  • People were hot-bloodiedquick to anger

  • or cold-bloodiedlacking in passion.

  • Rob: There 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.

  • Finn: Right. 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.

  • Rob: For 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.

  • Finn: So I won't be doing that today.

  • Rob: OK. Instead, how about answering a question all about blood Finn?

  • Finn: Go on then.

  • Rob: If 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?

  • Finn: Well, let's say 100,000 miles. That's b).

  • Rob: OK. 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?

  • Finn: Yes 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: Sometimes known as the Vampire Facelift,

  • PRPPlatelet 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.

  • Finn: Ouch! And the word he used was "accelerate".

  • Now that means to make faster.

  • Rob: And he said they "treated" his blood.

  • This means "changed or transformed" it.

  • Finn: Well, today, of course, controlled blood transfusion

  • is a completely normal medical practice that saves countless lives.

  • And blood donorsthe people who give their blood

  • are an important part of healthcare.

  • Rob: Yes, Finn, but there's all sorts of other amazing things that blood can do.

  • If we are running at altitudehigh 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.

  • Finn: Altitude 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.

  • Rob Nice. 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.

  • Finn: And 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.

  • Rob: Modern science is really helping us to understand

  • blood properly for the first time and showing us the way forward.

  • Finn: Now Rob, before my blood boils,

  • could you let me know the answer to the quiz question, please?

  • Rob: Yes. 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?

  • Finn: Well, I said 100,000 miles.

  • Rob: Wow. And you know your blood vessels,

  • because you got that question right.

  • Finn: Well, I measured them earlier.

  • Rob: Good. And how do you feel about blood now?

  • Finn: Well, 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.

  • Rob: Great. So, let's remind ourselves of some of the words we've said today, Finn.

  • Finn: Here we are:

  • faint

  • rejuvenate

  • transfusion

  • cholesterol-high

  • veins and arteries

  • clotting

  • accelerate

  • and treated

  • Rob: Thank you. Well, that's it for today.

  • Please visit bbclearningenglish.com to find more 6 Minute English programmes.

  • Until next time. Goodbye!

  • Finn: Goodbye!

Rob: Hello, I'm Rob. Welcome to 6 Minute English.

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it