Hasta La Gadget!

If you’ve played any of the Mass Effect games, then you’re familiar with the series’ Medi-gel. It’s a potent salve that instantly cures wounds and restores health, regardless of the source of the damage. It can even be administered remotely! It does have one crucial flaw: it’s not real. But two college students from NYU-Poly have invented something similar to this miraculous substance.

The product is called Veti-gel, a plant-based gel that can stop bleeding and hasten blood clotting, supposedly regardless of the size of the wound. It was invented by Joe Landolina and Kenny Mai, two junior college students at New York University. In fact, in 2011 Landolina and Mai were still calling their invention Medi-gel. I don’t know why they changed it though.

Tech News Daily spoke with Landolina and reports that the gel “jump-starts the clotting and healing process so quickly that even wounds to internal organs or major arteries are able to close up instantaneously.” Landolina was even quoted as saying, “One of my other colleagues … he went to a bonfire. One of his friends fell into the fire and got second-degree burns. He put the gel on, and the next day is [sic] was healed[.]“

Apparently the gel’s plant-based polymers turn themselves into a replica of an animal tissue component known as the Extracellular Matrix or ECM. The ECM has many functions, one of which is related to healing wounds. Once applied, Veti-gel forms a tight seal around the wound and helps with clotting and healing. In the short video below, Veti-gel is applied on a 3″ incision is made on a piece of raw pork loin that’s been pumped full of blood. Aside from being very gross, the video also shows how fast the gel does its job.

Because we live in an amazing world, it doesn’t surprise me that there are already substances similar to Veti-gel. One is called QuikClot and the other is called Floseal. But according to Tech News Daily QuikClot requires that you apply pressure over the wound for several minutes, whereas Veti-gel can fly solo. Floseal on the other hand is partly made from bovine gelatin. Veti-gel is made from plants, which are not as adorable as cows and oxen and thus can be harvested without remorse. Just kidding. Kind of.

But don’t be reckless when you’re assaulting the Reapers just yet because Veti-gel is still in development. Also because there are no Reapers. Landolina and Mai have started a company called Suneris to further work on and market their invention. Maybe these geniuses can make the Omni-tool real as well.

[via Tech News Daily, NYU-Poly (1), (2) & Suneris via Kotaku]

I never thought that those membranes on the inside of an eggshell were good for anything, except if you’re a chick inside an egg. Now it turns out that egg membranes can be used as natural bandages. That being said, you’ll need to keep a dozen eggs handy whenever you do anything dangerous.

A National Institute of Health study found that egg membranes could make an ideal covering for skin graft dressings, due to the egg membranes properties of wound protection, pain relief, and the promotion of infection-free healing. And the guys at Tips on Food Storage say you can use the membranes to quickly stop bleeding from a would too. In order to use this method, you’ll have to carefully peel the egg membrane out of the egg, after having cracked an egg, and poured out the egg white and yolk. Apply the membrane to the wound and keep pressure on it until it hardens, and you can get proper stitches and wound dressing from a medical professional.

I think that plasters and bandages are probably more handy and sterile than plain old eggs, but it makes you wonder if they weren’t used in the past as bandages as well.

[via Lifehacker]

Don’t remember what happened last night? That’s probably because it didn’t end very well. But aside from having to deal with your scrapes and bruises, the biggest problem you have to deal with is your parents (if you’re still young) or your significant other (if you’re already married.) But what better way to rattle off your excuses than by bandage?

Each ‘What Happened Last Night?’ tin contains 25 excuses bandages to cover up any boo-boos and explain what happened in the process.

I don’t think kids will really get the concept of these bandages and I doubt you’d want to give these to them anyways (one of the band-aids say ‘beer-related incident.’)

These hilarious bandages are available from the Fancy for $15 (USD).