The Chemistry of the Color of Life

Let’s talk about the molecules of blood

Blood is a mixture of different substances (plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets — you know, all the things you learned in middle school science class), but its fame is mostly due to that instantly-recognizable red color. Once I began researching this topic, two facets of blood became of chemical interest to me: 1) (most obviously) “what is the chemistry of the red coloration?” and 2) “how does it transport oxygen?”