Bandage of shrimps for US armymen

Shrimp shells and vinegar may become staples for US Army troops in Iraq — not as rations but in a new bandage that staunches heavy bleeding in minutes.

A team of Portland, Oregon-based scientists searching for a solution to an age-old problem — how to keep soldiers from bleeding to death on the battlefield — stumbled on the kitchen pantry combination and, through high-tech wizardry, turned it into a super-sticky, combat-ready field dressing.

Dr Kenton Gregory and retired Col Bill Wiesmann of HemCon Inc, who discovered the rub, has taken orders for 10,000 of the bandages. (Reuters)