Stemming bleeding is a major part of medical surgery – it’s not just critical, but consumes a lot of time and effort too. Which is why surgeons are getting excited by a new invention in the form of a clear gel which, when rubbed onto wounds, staunches bleeding rapidly. The gel is made up of a solution of peptide proteins that can rapidly self-organise into sheet-like structures at the nanoscale, and if the results it has been producing in rodent test subjects can be replicated with humans, surgery will be changed forever. In the meantime, maybe we should be looking at using spiderweb dressings to prevent infections and promote healing?