Life is like an escalator, you can move forward or backward, but you can’t remain still. Patricia Russell-McCloud, Motivational speaker.

American soldiers today are twice as likely to survive combat wounds as those during WWII. But DARPA, the Defense Department’s research branch hopes to keep them fighting longer. One of the groups goals is to keep wounded soldiers pulling the trigger for up to four days without a medic or evacuation. One avenue of research is developing a smart bandage that delivers tiny electrical shocks to accelerate tissue repair. Adapted from WIRED

New on the market: Colgate Orabase Soothe-N-Seal. A gel-style resin that incorporates a painkiller and an anti-inflammatory. Intended to treat canker sores. Band Aid Liquid Bandage A consumer version of Dermabond. Forms a waterproof seal on skin. Comes off by itself after five days. Ibid

It’s not clear how much sleep the Army thinks wounded soldiers need, but if they’re not wounded, the Army’s goal is to keep them awake for seven days without sleep. Currently, the US Army’s Aero- medical Research Laboratory is testing an anti-sleep agent called modafinil. Sold by Cephalon under the name Provigil, the compound can keep users up for two or three days at a stretch, without side-effects. Ibid

In the past, we’ve reported here on the ingenious ways funeral homes respond to the needs of their customers. It turns out that one of the most fail safe growth industries today is oversize caskets for obese people. The Goliath Casket Co. of Lynn, Indiana can’t build them fast enough. When Keith and Julane Davis started the company in the late 80’s, they sold just one triple wide, their biggest model, each year. Now they’re shipping 4 to 5 triple wides a month. Business is increasing 20% annually. San Francisco Chronicle