Shrimp Cocktail for your Wounds

Chitosan, the second most abundant substance on the planet, is found in shells of crustaceans and insects. Now scientist have used ground-up shrimp shells rich in chitosan to make a bandage that clots the blood of a wound in under a minute.

From the article: "'The outer membrane of a red blood cell has a negative charge,' Dr. Kenton Gregory, co-founder of HemCon (the company that manufactures the bandage) explains, "and opposite charges attract. The red cell is attracted to the positively-charged chitosan, and when it touches, it fuses and forms a blood clot.' When a clot forms, the bleeding stops. And unlike a regular bandage, which slips off when wet, the HemCon bandage becomes adhesive and sticks to the wet wound site, sealing and stabilizing it." Full story here.

This is great news for soldiers because a lot of battlefield deaths are caused by severe bleeding. It would also help gunshot victims that wouldn't survive the trip to the hospital. Although they are only available to the military ($100 for a 4" x 4" patch) the company plans to sell them in pharmacies and such so that eventually we all have a couple of these things in the glove compartment or in the bathroom cabinet.