Shrimp-shell goop wound sealant to get test in outer space
This is wild, but apparently there is a would healant made out of shrimp shells that’s about to get space tested. Apparently they’re curious to see how chitosan, the biopolymer that makes up these space-age bandaids, acts in outer space. According to the New Scientist:
Chitosan is a water-soluble form of chitin, an abundant long-chain natural biopolymer that is a key component of the semi-transparent exoskeletons of arthropods from insects to lobsters, and in the cell walls of fungi.
Some researchers believe natural chitin helps protect arthropods from bacterial infection, important because they lack a conventional immune system. The soluble chitosan carries a positive charge that attracts the negatively charged membranes of bacteria, stopping them from multiplying and in some cases killing them. The charge also initiates clotting of red blood cells.
