A remarkable new nanomaterial developed at MIT stops bleeding in seconds when applied to wounds.

The discovery was made by accident when researchers experimenting with nerve cells in the brains of rats applied some of the liquid to damaged cells.

"When we used the liquid during the surgery we thought that the animals had died," Professor Rutledge Ellis-Behnke told Chemistry World. "The bleeding in the brain stopped and that normally indicates that the heart has stopped beating."

The researchers then tested the liquid on skin, liver, lungs and other tissue, and found that it stopped bleeding in as little as 15 seconds.

The new material is formulated at the nanoscale from individual amino acids to form a self-assembling peptide. On contact with tissue, the amino acids form a network of fibers that stop the bleeding.

Ellis-Behnke believes this technology could revolutionize surgery, where doctors now spend up to 50 percent of their time packing wounds to control bleeding. He hopes to begin human trials within three years.