A new chemical coating could keep bananas from ripening.

Ginsnob via Flickr Science spends a lot of time taking care of bananas - inventing refrigerated ships, crushing acres' worth of them to come up with enough seeds to breed, and so on.

Now a group of Chinese researchers are proposing a secondary banana coat, spraying Andrew W.K.'s favorite fruits with a hydrogel made from discarded shrimp shells.

A hydrogel coating made of chitosan, derived from crustacean shells, can prevent a banana from becoming overripe for about two weeks, according to Xihong Li, lead author of a new banana study reported this week at the American Chemical Society's annual meeting.

Bananas continue to respire after they're picked, taking in oxygen through their skin.
The more it respires, the faster it ripens, which is why an air-exposed banana turns brown so fast.
Bananas reach a tipping point as they ripen -- the pulp releases...