Blood Gel

A new material has been developed that can stop bleeding almost instantly. Ladies, say goodbye to that pesky period!

The material consists of naturally occurring amino acids that have been engineered to form peptides that spontaneously cluster together to create long fibers when exposed to salty, aqueous environments, such as those found in the body. The fibers form a mesh that serves as a physical barrier to blood and other fluids.

The first application will be for surgery, well, pending FDA approval. When bleeding occurs during an operation, time can be saved by pouring the material on instead of searching through the blood to cauterize vessels. Emergency personnel may also be able to use it for accident and battlefield wounds. The body will break the material down eventually, so it doesn’t have to be removed after use. Based on the fact that the material works as a physical barrier, the founders expect that it will qualify as a medical device rather than a drug, which could speed the approval process.

The material was discovered at MIT in the early 1990s, but it wasn't until a few years ago that its potential for stopping bleeding was discovered. Several other compounds have recently been developed to stop bleeding, and fibrin-based products are used in emergency rooms and dental applications, but the new material is faster and more effective. Emo kids and self mutilators, rejoice!