Carbon monoxide—the silent killer—claims 1,500 lives a year in the U.S. and sends 50,000 people to the emergency room. It seeps in without smell, taste, or warning, hijacking the body’s oxygen supply in minutes. For decades, our only defense has been to pump victims full of pure oxygen, sometimes in high-pressure chambers, and hope it’s not too late.

Now, a team at the University of Maryland School of Medicine may have cracked the code for a true antidote—one that doesn’t just help the body cope but actively hunts down and removes the toxin.

Their engineered molecule, RcoM-HBD-CCC, acts like a molecular sponge for carbon monoxide. Based on a natural protein from a soil bacterium that can detect the faintest whiff of the gas, the re-engineered version zeroes in on CO in the bloodstream and grabs it with ruthless efficiency—without stealing oxygen or dangerously spiking blood pressure, a common problem with other hemoprotein therapies.

In mouse tests, the results were stunning: RcoM-HBD-CCC cleared half the carbon monoxide in less than a minute. Once the toxin was bound, the complex flushed out safely through urine, freeing hemoglobin to carry oxygen again. By comparison, pure oxygen therapy can take more than an hour to achieve the same clearance—and untreated victims can take over five hours.

“This could be the first rapid, field-ready antidote for carbon monoxide poisoning,” says Dr. Jason Rose, one of the study’s authors. “Imagine EMTs administering it on the spot, buying precious time for the brain and heart.”

Beyond poisoning, the research hints at broader possibilities—an oxygen delivery system for extreme anemia, a blood substitute for trauma patients, or even a preservation aid for organ transplants. The idea is to take the same “scavenger” concept and deploy it in scenarios where oxygen delivery is critical.

If future studies confirm safety and efficacy in humans, carbon monoxide—the invisible killer—could lose its lethal advantage. In its place: a shot, a flush, and a second chance at life.

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