Billions of people rely on rice as a staple crop. Now here’s another reason to grow it: scientists have figured out a way to use the grain to produce a key component of human blood. The blood protein is called human serum albumin, or HSA, which is normally produced by the liver and helps ferry hormones, steroids and fatty acids in the bloodstream. HSA is also used in drug and vaccine production, and to treat patients in hemorrhagic shock or with serious burns, cirrhosis or other conditions.
