What are the chances of a video game inspiring a real-world medical breakthrough that could save countless lives?
REUTERS
Yet MeTro, a revolutionary new medical gel that can stop any wound from bleeding in just one minute, seems to be the real-world sibling of Mass Effect's medi-gel.
The new surgical glue, called MeTro, seems too good to be true. It's made of naturally occurring protein, can seal any cuts or puncture wounds on the body within a minute of its application. While it's on, MeTro accelerates the healing process and ensures the skin rupture mends itself in record time.
Known as "a stretchy, sticky alternative to sutures," MeTro is the result of a joint research between University of Sydney, Harvard University and North Eastern University. The highly-elastic material needs to be exposed to ultraviolet light after applying on any wound to be able to work its binding magic.?
MeTro -- medical gel extraordinaire!
If you thought MeTro was only useful for external wounds, you couldn't be more wrong. It isn¡¯t only useful as an emergency first aid, but MeTro can also improve surgery outcomes. According to lead author of the study from Boston's North Eastern University, MeTro "solidifies into a gel-like phase without running away" as soon as it comes in contact with internal tissue. In tests MeTro was capable of functioning as an alternative to medical suture to hold together surgical cuts better than sutures or staples.
Sounds extremely promising, isn't it? Well, let's hope human trials of MeTro come off without any major side-effects and the wonder gel can do what it's designed for -- to save lives.