The Venom Cure

THE VENOM CURE

Posted On: April 15, 2012
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You know those beautiful little tropical frogs with electric blue or orange markings? A single touch of their skin could kill you.
Have you ever seen an elegant cone snail shell lying on the beach? Well, beware! It hides a poison harpoon that is deadly.
And watch out! Those snakes and lizards could be armed with venom and toxic saliva.
Amazingly, they may also hold cures to many human diseases. Scientists have discovered that natural poisons, toxins, and venoms contain chemicals that can be used to create an array of drugs for treating everything from chronic pain to cancer.
For instance, the cone shell’s venom, packed with nerve-debilitating conotoxins, provides the basis for a new painkiller. Contortrostatin, a component found in copperhead venom, is being used to attack breast cancer cells and to prevent cancer from spreading.