An amazing medical scientific breakthrough that could potentially save thousands of lives annually has been successfully tested on animals.  If it proves safe in humans, the discovery could revolutionise trauma care and completely transform surgical practice.

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.

Molecular biologist Shuguang Zhang at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and colleagues in the US and abroad made the discovery while experimenting with peptides.

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.

They don't yet know exactly why the self-assembling gel stops bleeding.  After further research to understand the mechanisms at work, the medical scientists hope to begin human clinical trials in three to five years.

h/t: Faith-Science News