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Heroes

Thanks to a new invention, sponges may soon help save shooting victims.

After getting FDA approval, this handy device will soon be making its way to first responders.

While debate over how to reduce gun violence carries on, there's a new tool that might, at least, help victims of it.

It's called the XSTAT, and it's a wonderful, ridiculously simple invention that's sure to save lives in coming years.

Invented by John Steinbaugh, a former U.S. Army special forces medic, XSTAT was the result of a request from the Army for something to replace gauze, the go-to battlefield wound-packer for decades. Steinbaugh decided to see whether it'd be possible to replace gauze with sponges that can both absorb blood and apply pressure to gunshot or shrapnel wounds.

Here he is discussing his invention in a 2014 episode of "PBS NewsHour."

Simple! Effective! Life-saving! GIF from "PBS NewsHour."

Sponges are injected into the wound, clotting the blood.

The sponges are coated with blood-clotting chemicals and have been shown to stop bleeding after just 20 seconds (as opposed to three to five minutes with gauze).

Here's what it looks like in action. (Pretend that the opening in this Erlenmeyer flask is a bullet wound and the blue liquid is blood.)

Sponges are injected into the wound. GIF from "PBS NewsHour."

Within seconds, they clot the wound, expanding and applying pressure. GIF from "PBS NewsHour."

This helps buy precious time to get the victim to a surgeon.

As Dr. Martin Schreiber — chief of trauma at the Oregon Health and Science University and colonel in the Army Reserve — tells PBS, the difference between 20 seconds and three minutes can mean the difference between life and death.

GIF from "PBS NewsHour."

"According to the United States Army Institute of Surgical Research, 30 to 40 percent of civilian deaths by traumatic injury are the result of hemorrhaging," reads the FDA's notice of approval for the XSTAT 30 (the version made for first responders, paramedics, police officers, and the like). "Of those deaths, 33 to 56 percent percent occur before the patient reaches a hospital."

Of course, the XSTAT is not a cure-all. There are some catches involved.

For one, certain factors like the size and shape of the wound will determine whether the XSTAT 30 is the most effective option. And, of course, this is merely to help buy time for a victim to get to a hospital, at which point the sponges (marked with an "X" that will show up on X-rays) need to be removed.

But it's a quick, simple update to some old technology.

I could watch this GIF all day. GIF from "PBS NewsHour."

If there's one thing we can take away from this invention, it's that solutions don't always need to be sophisticated.

Sometimes the best inventions and innovations come from the simplest ideas. For example, take this gravity-powered light that's been popping up in countries where electricity is scarce.

Behold! The gravity light! GIF from Therefore.

So whether it's updating a battlefield staple like gauze or using forces of nature to stand in for electricity, look around! You never know where the next great invention will come from.

To learn more about this invention and its uses, check out this video from "PBS NewsHour."

Heroes

A color-changing bandage may just change how we treat infections.

True

In the United States, more than 300 kids end up in the hospital for burn injuries every day.

Antibiotics are often part of routine burn treatment — even if the kids don't need them. We've all had experiences like this. It can take up to two days for a doctor to diagnose an infection, so we're given antibiotics as a "just to be safe" measure ... even if our injury isn't infected.

As a result, antibiotic resistance is now considered one of the biggest health threats we face today. Our overuse of antibiotics is leading to record high levels of antibiotic resistance, and infections and injuries that have been treatable for a long time may once again become difficult to get rid of.

But! Fear not! There's a brilliant new bandage out there that promises to help doctors cut down on doling out unnecessary antibiotics.

It's all about what turns neon green.

Developed by scientists at the University of Bath, this bandage-of-the-future is a special medical dressing that can determine if a wound becomes infected and get results faster than anything else out there today.

The so-called "best bandage ever" uses UV light to provide the answers people need ... fast.

These bandages contain nanocapsules that contain a dye that bursts open in the presence of disease-causing bacteria. Bright green = infection.

The test on the right is screaming, "Infection!"

As I mentioned before, it can take doctors up to two days to determine if a burn wound is infected. For young kids and their weak immune systems, two days untreated can become a dangerous situation when dealing with infection — or not.

"Children are at particular risk of serious infection from even a small burn," explained Dr. Amber Young. "However, with current methods clinicians can't tell whether a sick child might have a raised temperature due to a serious bacterial burn wound infection, or just from a simple cough or cold.

So it's understandable why antibiotics have been prescribed as precautionary measures for so long.

But with the arrival of these nanocapsule bandages, the future is now; an infection diagnosis is possible within just a few hours, giving doctors the green light to act fast and know exactly what steps are necessary.

This breakthrough can help put families at ease, cut down on hospital costs, and limit the use of unnecessary antibiotics – which has turned into a serious problem.

There's a reason the World Health Organization has launched its first-ever World Antibiotic Resistance Week. If we're not careful, common infections that have been easily treatable in the past will come back to cause some major problems.

This bandage saves the day in two amazing ways: speedy and more accurate diagnoses for infections and fewer unnecessary antibiotics.

For anyone who's been severely burned or injured, you know there's nothing you want more than fast solutions and less hospital time. A diagnosis in two days versus a diagnosis in a few hours is huge!

Nanocapsules to the rescue! Glow on (but preferably don't!), my tiny friends.

See them in action here: