A Lifesaver

Literally, from this medical breakthrough:

Composed of peptides, the liquid self-assembles into a protective nanofiber gel when applied to a wound. Rutledge Ellis-Behnke, research scientist in the department of brain and cognitive sciences at MIT and Kwok-Fai So, chair of the department of anatomy at the University of Hong Kong, discovered the liquid's ability to stop bleeding while experimenting with it as a matrix for regrowing brain cells in hamsters.

The researchers then conducted a series of experiments on various mammals, including rodents and pigs, applying the clear liquid agent to the brain, skin, liver, spinal cord, and femoral artery to test its ability to halt bleeding and seal wounds.

"It worked every single time," said Ellis-Behnke. They found that it stopped the bleeding in less than 15 seconds, and even worked on animals given blood-thinning medications.

The wound must still be stitched up after the procedure; but unlike other agents designed to stop bleeding, it does not have to be removed from the wound site.

The liquid's only byproduct is amino acids: tissue building blocks that can be used to actually repair the site of the injury, according to the researchers. It is also nontoxic, causes no immune response in the patient, and can be used in a wet environment, according to Ellis-Behnke.

Is this a drug, or a de-vice? I hope that the FDA won't get in the way of immediate field use. We need it on the battlefields, both in Iraq and in the emergency rooms of the inner cities. It seems to me that if what's stated is true, unnecessary (e.g., for further animal or even human testing) delay in deploying it should be considered criminal negligence.

[Note: misspelling of de-vice necessary for some arcane reason known only to the creators of Moveable Type (if they know)]