MIT Develop Spray That Can Stop Bleeding Instantly

Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the U.S. have created a nanoscale biological coating that can halt bleeding within a few seconds.

The spray contains thrombin, a clotting agent found in blood and tannic acid, a small molecule found in natural tea.

The spray was tested on a sponge and could be stored for several months before use.

This is very useful for soldiers as it can be easily carried, stored and used in the battle arena as it has a very long shelf life.

Uncontrolled bleeding is the main cause of death in the battlefield.

Earlier, the army personnel used tourniquets, a cuff-like material used to stop bleeding, but that was not very effective.

Though fibrin dressings and glues are much effective, they have a very short shelf life.

According to the researchers, this spray is not only useful for soldiers but also for the general public, as it can be easily carried anywhere.

"The ability to easily package the blood-clotting agent in this sponge system is very appealing because you can pack them, store them and then pull them out rapidly," says Paula Hammond, who led the research team.

"A key advantage of the spray method is that it allows a large amount of thrombin to be packed into the sponges, coating even the interior fibers," says David King, instructor in surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital.

"All of the existing hemostatic materials suffer from the same limitation, which is being able to deliver a dense enough package of hemostatic material to the bleeding site. That's why this new material is exciting," he said.

White blood cell chasing a bacteria

Scientists Claim Womb Transplants possible within 2 Years

The first successful human womb transplant could take place within two years, British scientists have said. London-based experts say they have worked out how to transplant a womb with a regular blood supply so it will last long enough to carry a pregnancy.

Research involving donor rabbits was presented at a US fertility conference. The charity Uterine Transplant UK is seeking funding of £250,000 after being denied grants by several medical research bodies.

A breakthrough could offer an alternative to surrogacy or adoption for women whose own wombs have been damaged by diseases such as cervical cancer. Up to 200 women in the UK are said to use surrogate mothers each year.

In the latest research conducted at the Royal Veterinary College in London, five rabbits were given a womb using a technique which connected major blood vessels, including the aorta.

Two of the rabbits lived to 10 months, with examinations after death indicating the transplants had been a success. This has created 'Huge interest'.

Richard Smith, consultant gynaecological surgeon at Hammersmith Hospital, told the American Society for Reproductive Medicine conference in Atlanta the team's next step would involve getting rabbits pregnant through IVF treatment. The technique would then be used on larger animals.

Other research projects in the past have carried out similar experiments on pigs, goats, sheep and monkeys but there is a big difference between demonstrating effectiveness in a rabbit and being able to do this in a larger animal or a human

Tony Rutherford, British Fertility Society
A human transplant has also been tried once before - in Saudi Arabia in 2000 - but the womb came from a live donor, and was rejected after three months. Mr Smith suggested it may have failed because surgeons had not worked out how to connect the blood vessels properly.

The UK study involved transplanting the womb with all its arteries, veins and bigger vessels. "I think there are certain technical issues to be ironed out but I think the crux of how to carry out a successful graft that's properly vascularised - I think we have cracked that one."

A transplanted womb would only stay in place long enough for a woman to have the children she wanted and any baby would have to be delivered by Caesarean section as a transplanted human womb is unlikely to be able to withstand natural labour.

Conception would also need to be through IVF because women with a transplanted womb could be at higher risk of ectopic pregnancy.

Mr Smith acknowledged the procedures were seen as "a step too far in terms of fertility management" among the medical profession but said interest from patients was huge.

Tony Rutherford, chairman of the British Fertility Society, said: "I think there is a big difference between demonstrating effectiveness in a rabbit and being able to do this in a larger animal or a human..."

Clare Lewis-Jones, from Infertility Network UK, said "a great deal of thought and discussion" was needed on the issue including the ethical ramifications.

China: High Levels of Lead Pollution in Children's Blood

Chinese Children hold up laboratory test results showing high levels of lead in their blood at a village in Jiyuan, Henan province.

China is accused of widespread violations of human rights and environmental pollution, because of its expansionist plans to forceably, industrialise the predominantly argricultural country.

Picture: REUTERS

The Tangled Web of Blood Clots

A better understanding of the mechanisms of blood clotting could help prevent the condition known as artherosclerosis - a chronic inflamation in the walls of arteries.

The glue that holds blood clots together is really a dense matrix made of a protein called fibrin, coloured orange in this image. Fibrin scaffolds can stretch up to three times their length without breaking, yet they’re porous enough for protein-eating enzymes to snake through the scaffold once a wound has healed.

When stretched, chaotic tangles of fibrin proteins align. As this scaffold stretches further, individual protein chains unfurl and kick out adjacent water molecules, shrinking the total volume of the matrix.

It is hoped that by examining and understanding these unusual properties of fibrin and blood-clotting they can be reversed, controlled and modulated - holding huge promise for the treatment of conditions such as artherosclerosis