An artistic representation of nanocrystals (purple and green) absorbing gas molecules Jarad Mason/University of Harvard
Water modified to absorb gases in a sponge-like way can carry 10 times as much oxygen as blood, which could help it act as an oxygen source in artificial blood substitutes or to help preserve organs and tissues.
Many gases will dissolve in water, but how much this can happen is limited because the hydrogen bonds formed between water molecules, which contain two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, are difficult to break. That means they stay together rather than dissolving the gases by…
