An engineered "glue" inspired by barnacle cement can seal bleeding organs in 10-15 seconds. It was tested on pigs and worked faster than available surgical products, even when the pigs were on blood thinners.
This was the premise of an episode of The Odd Couple fifty years ago. Oscar’s dentist invents a fast-acting, super-strong dental glue based on barnacles. It works great until Oscar, talking about how great the glue works with potential investors, gets “dry mouth” from being nervous and his filling comes loose. It turns out the barnacle glue only works when wet!
I thought the headline was a joke when I read it. Then I realized it was from an actual scientific subreddit and not a parody. Felix giving the speech at the presentation still makes me laugh.
Did not read the article. Are you citing a similarity between fact and fiction? Does this real cement only work if wet or is that just the plot device of the episode? Nonetheless, I'm about to go read up on this show
Any wound dressing that contains chitosan has the potential to trigger shellfish allergies. We were warned about them when we were issued chitosan dressings in the Army, but if we were in need of those types of dressings, an allergic reaction was the least of our concerns at that point.
Typically shellfish allergy is attributed to topomyosin as a component of the meat of the shellfish. Chitosan comes from the shells and typically processing removes the proteins (topomyosin). Also
I remember the British Heart Foundation had a series of ads a while back that was advertising they were studying zebrafish because they had a mechanism to repair their own damaged heart muscle
I used to do vascular surgery research in a pig model. While their anatomy is similar to humans, they seem to have better clotting mechanisms. This data is encouraging but obviously needs more research.
These dressing types are nothing new, we've been using them in country for at least a couple of decades. They work well but will never be used civilian side because of the resulting complications during surgery, ie, they are difficult to remove.
Chitosan is a derivative of chitin and has been used in wound dressings for humans for many years (Celox and others). I'm not even sure what new information is being presented in this article.
I had a family member a few years back who went through a procedure using surgical glue. Something went wrong during the procedure and the glue got into his blood stream and gathered in various organs throughout his body. He died slowly over the course of a couple of months. It was a very sad thing to see him go through that.
Uuh, 'scuze me. Haven't cyanoacrylate glues derived from barnacles been used in US Military combat first aid kids since vietnam? Keeping a tube of superglue in your first aid kit is also standard practice for backcountry campers and climbers. I gather there's something innovative in this recently announced material; but calling it inspired by barnacle cement fails to acknowlege barncles also inspired substances that have been in use for the same purposes for over 50 years
There's an actual medical product called NewSkin that does the same thing as super glue, but it comes with a little nail polish brush to apply it evenly over the wound.
Please do not put store bought Krazy Glue on a cut. Unless it’s an emergency or a really small scratch. The kind of wound you should put this on is like a deep scratch. Not a cut.
I used superglue on a number of cuts, but my experience is not overly favorable over a fresh bandaid each day coupled with iodine. I let the small cuts in my fingers clog up, disinfect the wound and apply superglue. But somehow wound fluid manages to seep out or cause a huge blob on the wound.
Ah yes, the bag of magic granules that every combat first aid course would sternly remind you not to tear open with your mouth. I remember that from 20 years ago.
Glue to treat wounds gets sensationalized on Reddit every few months. Glues are good for a few I juries, there's a million different glues they can use.
I was in the military and later found out I have hemophilia. The quick clot used by the military won't work on me because my clotting proteins don't exist to react with. This type does work with my blood. It's also over $40 per gauze. I bought several though since it's critically important as a hemophiliac that I'm able to quickly control bleeding
Similar compounds are already used in medicine. This is just a better version that can also be used on organs. There is a decent chance it will actually end up being used in the relatively near future.
i think these boys might be a bit late to the party. there is already a product called vetigel and the company that makes it jused closed a funding round to accelerate human trials and get FDA approval:
“Ask the experimenters why they experiment on animals, and the answer is, ‘Because the animals are like us.’ Ask the experimenters why it is morally okay to experiment on animals, and the answer is, ‘Because the animals are not like us.'”
How is this better than the military Celox or QuikClot we got now? Would it cause chemical burns? Easily removed? How practical is it to produce and dispense it?
There's an old story about a mechanic called in to fix some factory machine. After banging it with a hammer and getting it working, the factory manager asks what they paid him thousands for. He replies "it cost nothing for me to hit this with a hammer, it costs thousands for me to know exactly where to hit it".
I remember a clotting agent we learned about in army medic school that had a warning to not use on those allergic to shellfish. I wonder if this will be the same
“Barnacles cling thanks to a cement of proteins secreted from glands along each animal’s “forehead.” But the secret sauce—well, more of an oil—is a cocktail of lipids that first sweep contaminants away from surfaces so the proteins can do their thing. “So basically they are terraforming the target substrate…”
I remember from reading a lot of the original Halo books in high school they referenced bio-foam which was ejected into the wound and the foam grew to seal the wound. It’s interesting to see how reality follows art. Especially when the art is self aware of its modern limitations.
How large can the wound be? What are the side effects of it getting in the blood? How much does it cost? What are the benefits to this over a patch? How the hell do you glue multiple lacerations that intersect?
Omg!!! I make seaweed jewelry (some with barnacles) and i had a scientist at my craft fair table telling me about how they were looking into this (maybe 4 years ago) neat to see it making headlines and that its working. He was mostly talking about using it in replace of bone adhesives … this is pretty amazing that it can also be used on soft organs!
Welcome to
This was the premise of an episode of The Odd Couple fifty years ago. Oscar’s dentist invents a fast-acting, super-strong dental glue based on barnacles. It works great until Oscar, talking about how great the glue works with potential investors, gets “dry mouth” from being nervous and his filling comes loose. It turns out the barnacle glue only works when wet!
I thought the headline was a joke when I read it. Then I realized it was from an actual scientific subreddit and not a parody. Felix giving the speech at the presentation still makes me laugh.
At first I thought to myself, jeez, you must be old as heck to reference a show from the ‘50s, then I realized 50 years ago it was 1971…
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I’m so glad I’m not the only one who still remembers barnacle glue!
I’m just thankful I’m not the only person who thought about that,
That is exactly what I was going to say. Thanks man!
This is actually only one of 2 episodes I can remember. The other is the one where they went to fat camp.
I remember that episode.
Came here only to say that. We're old...
Did not read the article. Are you citing a similarity between fact and fiction? Does this real cement only work if wet or is that just the plot device of the episode? Nonetheless, I'm about to go read up on this show
Will shellfish allergies cause an allergic reaction with this glue?
Any wound dressing that contains chitosan has the potential to trigger shellfish allergies. We were warned about them when we were issued chitosan dressings in the Army, but if we were in need of those types of dressings, an allergic reaction was the least of our concerns at that point.
I came to ask the same question. Thank you.
Typically shellfish allergy is attributed to topomyosin as a component of the meat of the shellfish. Chitosan comes from the shells and typically processing removes the proteins (topomyosin). Also
"If you want to solve a problem, you can probably find an animal that’s already evolved to solve it."
Another reason it's tremendously sad that were seeing so many species become extinct due to climate change....
I remember the British Heart Foundation had a series of ads a while back that was advertising they were studying zebrafish because they had a mechanism to repair their own damaged heart muscle
I used to do vascular surgery research in a pig model. While their anatomy is similar to humans, they seem to have better clotting mechanisms. This data is encouraging but obviously needs more research.
These dressing types are nothing new, we've been using them in country for at least a couple of decades. They work well but will never be used civilian side because of the resulting complications during surgery, ie, they are difficult to remove.
Chitosan is a derivative of chitin and has been used in wound dressings for humans for many years (Celox and others). I'm not even sure what new information is being presented in this article.
Hemophilia occurs in pigs, horses and dogs as well as humans.
I had a family member a few years back who went through a procedure using surgical glue. Something went wrong during the procedure and the glue got into his blood stream and gathered in various organs throughout his body. He died slowly over the course of a couple of months. It was a very sad thing to see him go through that.
Now I'm wondering which doctors are prescribing blood thinners to pigs?
Probably veterinarians
labe test. pigs are very similar to humans in medical terms so sometimes stuff is tested on them first
My uncle was a cop and he's been on blood thinners for years
Doctors of pigs with thick blood
Witch doctors are
Witch doctors?
Maybe they're been eating too many pork scratchings.
And inducing organ bleeding in pigs
I'm wondering who's job description it is to cut up pigs and then try to glue them back together.
Is the obesity joke low hanging fruit?
Shame that the rest of it is under paywall, but it sounds promising.
Uuh, 'scuze me. Haven't cyanoacrylate glues derived from barnacles been used in US Military combat first aid kids since vietnam? Keeping a tube of superglue in your first aid kit is also standard practice for backcountry campers and climbers. I gather there's something innovative in this recently announced material; but calling it inspired by barnacle cement fails to acknowlege barncles also inspired substances that have been in use for the same purposes for over 50 years
It seems the novel things here are it being applied to bleeding organs and that it worked even when the subject was on blood thinners.
Except for the fact that cyanoacrylate glues were not inspired or derived by/from barnacles.
There's an actual medical product called NewSkin that does the same thing as super glue, but it comes with a little nail polish brush to apply it evenly over the wound.
Please do not put store bought Krazy Glue on a cut. Unless it’s an emergency or a really small scratch. The kind of wound you should put this on is like a deep scratch. Not a cut.
I used superglue on a number of cuts, but my experience is not overly favorable over a fresh bandaid each day coupled with iodine. I let the small cuts in my fingers clog up, disinfect the wound and apply superglue. But somehow wound fluid manages to seep out or cause a huge blob on the wound.
Ah yes, the bag of magic granules that every combat first aid course would sternly remind you not to tear open with your mouth. I remember that from 20 years ago.
Glue to treat wounds gets sensationalized on Reddit every few months. Glues are good for a few I juries, there's a million different glues they can use.
I was in the military and later found out I have hemophilia. The quick clot used by the military won't work on me because my clotting proteins don't exist to react with. This type does work with my blood. It's also over $40 per gauze. I bought several though since it's critically important as a hemophiliac that I'm able to quickly control bleeding
And construction workers!
Krazy glue does legit work for moderately large wounds.
We don't use super glue for bleeding organs
Add this to the list of all those things that we will never see again. It's a long list. I'm sure this is yet another.
Similar compounds are already used in medicine. This is just a better version that can also be used on organs. There is a decent chance it will actually end up being used in the relatively near future.
The real question is "
I wrote a paper a few years ago for school about this but I focused on mussel adhesive proteins. Maybe barnacle proteins work better.
Barnacle penises can be eight times the length of their bodies. They have the largest reproductive organ in comparison to their size.
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Surgeons and field medics practice on pigs, because their physiology is very similar to people; and there are a lot of dead/dying pigs to practice on.
Finally! An actual good article on
Poor pigs! Especially the ones n blood thinners!
i think these boys might be a bit late to the party. there is already a product called vetigel and the company that makes it jused closed a funding round to accelerate human trials and get FDA approval:
Would this work for an aorta dissection? My father bled to death from that
Both disgusting and awesome :D
Hol’ up kinda moment here after thinking about how many pigs actually coincidentally needed a surgery
I thought this was superglue
Ive heard of this as an epoxy alternative before
TV commercials be like: “Ow my kidney!” “Honey, get me the SHELL GLUE!”
How does this compare to VetiGel? It sounds like a very similar concept.
The accompanying video is gnarly. Tl;dw: Beating rat heart is sliced open and the wound is spackled shut with goo while the heart is still beating.
You think they knocked the pigs out before they started hacking them up?
It will take many years to implement a new product like this in hospitals.
That sounds like a very cruel experiment...
Just thinking about how fucked up it is to intentionally cut pigs to test this
Why are people against experimenting on animals and if they are, who do they want us experimenting on, other humans?
I think we should only experiment on human infants.
Oof at giving pigs blood thinners then cutting them, surgically or not.
Damn, that’s really cool, how many $100 000 per dose?
I don't know how much a tube of superglue costs, but about that much for a tube of superglue
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Incoming train problem. How many pigs would you kill to save a person? How many pigs would need to be spared before you killed a person?
Must be a lovely life for those pigs....
“Ask the experimenters why they experiment on animals, and the answer is, ‘Because the animals are like us.’ Ask the experimenters why it is morally okay to experiment on animals, and the answer is, ‘Because the animals are not like us.'”
Yes. Exactly.
That’s a fucked up experiment, what the hell
Brace for
Alright pig, I'm going to cut you again for another test. I know you can't understand me, but just know, you'd be bacon if we weren't doing this.
That’s fucked up
This is basically biofoam-esque. Super cool!
This is incredibly great news for trauma medicine.
How is this better than the military Celox or QuikClot we got now? Would it cause chemical burns? Easily removed? How practical is it to produce and dispense it?
Reread the article. It compared favorably to chitosan based products, which Celox is.
Wow if you can make a Pig stop bleeding could it also make Trump stop talking?
Poor pigs. Test on murderers instead
Thank you for sharing this!
And we will never see or hear about this again
At the risk of being a Blockbuster exec talking to a Netflix pitch, I don't think this is going to reach prime time. A few reasons:
AMA: I was the guy stabbing pigs' organs in this experiment
So then, when can I stop using superglue?
I hope the pigs are okay
This sounds like an f'd up experiment. Free all the lab pigs
Those pigs are saving human lives.
Make you squeal like a pig has a new meaning
Cool, send this to the dentists in the back.
In this case you’re not paying for the cost of the stitches or glue they choose to use!
There's an old story about a mechanic called in to fix some factory machine. After banging it with a hammer and getting it working, the factory manager asks what they paid him thousands for. He replies "it cost nothing for me to hit this with a hammer, it costs thousands for me to know exactly where to hit it".
My only question is why a pig would need to be on blood thinners?
Probably to test if the product works with people on blood thinners.
It's pretty disgusting to cut open an animal, hurt it and then see if you can fix it.
I want to know who is the SOB that's shiving Miss Piggy. They'll need barnacle band aids
I bet those pigs were so thankful.
Big "Fleidiae" vibes off this one...
How do people figure these things out?
That's a lot of damage!
Sounds like this could have many other uses.
I remember a clotting agent we learned about in army medic school that had a warning to not use on those allergic to shellfish. I wonder if this will be the same
how do you determine is someone is allergic to shellfish in a battle field
Anyone who's ever had to clean barnacles from a boat hull knows how strong those little bastards are.
Let’s ask the real questions…tf is barnacle cement?
What they use to stick to things, like rocks, reefs, buoys, docks, and ships.
Imagine what cures we missed out on because we annihilated the animals they could be won from.
Cost: $65,000 a milligram.
We’re gonna be immortal soon, prepare yourselves.
That’s incredible. Well done!
Sorry if I'm stupid but wouldn't the body attack the "glue"
Cool! Cant wait to never hear about it ever again
One step closer to video-game level medgel
One step closer to medi-gel irl?
“Barnacles cling thanks to a cement of proteins secreted from glands along each animal’s “forehead.” But the secret sauce—well, more of an oil—is a cocktail of lipids that first sweep contaminants away from surfaces so the proteins can do their thing. “So basically they are terraforming the target substrate…”
The start of Medi-gel
HoldRush
The first iteration of medi-gel eh?
Great. I am literally on the table right now for a vasectomy. Where are my barnacles??
I remember from reading a lot of the original Halo books in high school they referenced bio-foam which was ejected into the wound and the foam grew to seal the wound. It’s interesting to see how reality follows art. Especially when the art is self aware of its modern limitations.
The real question- does it work better than cocaine?
Emergency HALO biofoam injections here we come!
How large can the wound be? What are the side effects of it getting in the blood? How much does it cost? What are the benefits to this over a patch? How the hell do you glue multiple lacerations that intersect?
I don't have time to read the article atm but does it mention how long it takes to decompose and what it decomposes into.
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One step closer to UNSC Biofoam.
Looks like we’re one step closer to Bacta tanks. Noice!
Billions of blue blistering barnacles that's neat!
Boy you bleed like a pig on blood thinners sure 'nuff
So this glue just created itself over time right? Wonder who found this awesome new product out in the wild.
My pigs always take blood thinners
So they derived an adhesive to seal me up…from one the things that cut me the worst in my entire life. Science is a funny thing.
Reminds of the bio foam in the halo books
Just a few years until hospitals start giving us Barnacle Bills.
Can we call it med-gel?
Omg!!! I make seaweed jewelry (some with barnacles) and i had a scientist at my craft fair table telling me about how they were looking into this (maybe 4 years ago) neat to see it making headlines and that its working. He was mostly talking about using it in replace of bone adhesives … this is pretty amazing that it can also be used on soft organs!
Maybe they can find something to do with the zebra mussels in the great lakes.
“This is a load of barnacles…..”
Ok now someone tell me why this won’t work/isn’t viable like with every other cool technological advancement headline I see
Major Dede effect is , finding rocks really attractive and just clinging to them.
This is gonna disappear from the news in like a month, resurface a year later and disappear again