MOSCOW, Aug. 14 -- The moment a wound opens, the body begins a quiet chemical war against itself. Inflammatory cells flood the injury site and release reactive oxygen species, molecular fragments that kill bacteria but also assault healthy proteins and lipids, stalling the recovery that should follow. For most wounds, the body resolves that conflict on its own. For chronic injuries, it often cannot, and the inflammatory cascade lingers, compounding damage rather than repairing it.

Bioengineers at Moscow's NUST MISIS have developed a gel-based wound dressing derived from brown algae that may interrupt that cycle at its most critical moment. The material, based on sodium alginate extracted from the marine algae class Phaeophyceae, embeds s...