The Story
“Simple treatment tweak drastically reduces blood loss from severe cuts”
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2524800-simple-treatment-tweak-drastically-reduces-blood-loss-from-severe-cuts/
by Yujia Huang
New Scientist, April 29, 2026
The Pitch
I’d like to pitch a story tied to a paper accepted at Nature (embargo April 29 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern). The team reports a safe way to modify red blood cells so they rapidly bind polymers and form a tough cytogel that can seal wounds and stop severe bleeding in seconds.
To test the idea, the researchers created a serious liver wound in rats and applied the modified red blood cells together with the polymer directly to the injury. They report that bleeding time dropped from about 265 seconds to under 5 seconds, and blood loss fell from nearly 2,000 mg to about 24 mg. And for potential use in patients, the modified cells can be made either from type-matched blood-bank units or from a patient’s own blood. The team says preparation can be completed in about 30 minutes.
I have an interview scheduled with the research team tomorrow. For outside comment, I plan to reach Xuanhe Zhao at MIT, who has worked on fast-acting hemostatic materials.
If this sounds of interest, I’d be happy to report it for New Scientist.