Self-assembling gel stops bleeding in seconds

muckshifter

muckshifter

I'm not weird, I'm a limited edition.
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Swab a clear liquid onto a gaping wound and watch the bleeding stop in seconds. An international team of researchers has accomplished just that in animals, using a solution of protein molecules that self-organise on the nanoscale into a biodegradable gel that stops bleeding.

If the material works as well in humans, it could save thousands of lives and make surgery far easier in many cases, surgeons say.

Molecular biologist Shuguang Zhang, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US, began experimenting with peptides in 1991. Zhang and colleagues at MIT and the University of Hong Kong in China went on to design several materials that self-assemble into novel nano-structures, including a molecular scaffold that helps the regrowth of severed nerve cells in hamsters (see Nano-scaffolds could help rebuild sight).

Their work exploits the way certain peptide sequences can be made to self-assemble into mesh-like sheets of "nanofibres" when immersed in salt solutions.

In the course of that research they discovered one material's dramatic ability to stop bleeding in the brain and began testing it on a variety of other organs and tissues. When applied to a wound, the peptides form a gel that seals over the wound, without causing harm to any nearby cells.
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wow!

http://www.newscientisttech.com/article.ns?id=dn10265&feedId=online-news_rss20

I am particularly interested in ...

"In the eye, even a drop of blood will blur your vision for a long time," Azar adds. "A material that would stop the bleeding could lead to a paradigm shift in how we practice surgery in the eye."
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:)
 
I think the Military will be keeping a close eye on it too ... ;)

Can I have enough to take a bath ... may need some corks of the right diameter though.


:D
 
I should think this might be very useful to haemophiliacs, or people taking Warfarin therapy too - if it ever becomes available in an over-the-counter form. Wonderful breakthrough :nod:
 
And people who have Epileptic seizures!
Literally nearly drowned in my own blood once. Friend had to hold my head up by my hair until the ambulance arrived, (heads are very heavy apparently). I bet she would've been over the moon if I'd had something like that about the house. & the number of times I've had significant but smaller injuries. Something like that around the house would be invaluable!

& like you said mucks, something like this for the treatment of vision disorders this would also be invaluable. treat the problem early & quickly. Something like this could make a huge amount of difference to a lot of people.

This could revolutionise the treatments of all sorts of disorders. Roll on the human trials.
Lets just hope it turns out to be relatively cheap to make too. Sounds like a good component of every first aid kit.
 
There's some clever stuff being invented! I hope it gets on the market quickly, as it can only be good :D
 
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