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Curative venom?! Who knew?
Curative venom?! Who knew?
Venomous animals tend to get a bad rap. Sure, this could be partly deserved since the venom from some of these species can kill humans in a matter of minutes. But the same qualities that can make venom dangerous can also be powerful for science and medicine.
Take a look at these venomous animals that just might save your life one day. (Of course, this is under special medical care. If you come across these animals on your own, then definitely turn — or run — the other way.)
1. Snails
The poison of a cone snail, Conus textile, is responsible for several human deaths. You might not think of snails as being venomous — and don't worry, most aren't — but cone snails are some of the most toxic animals in the world. Cone snails have a small range in the reefs of the Indo-Pacific area. Anyone who gets stung by one of these snails likely has only a few minutes to live. The venom this 4- to 6-inch creature can produce is said to be hundreds of times more powerful than morphine. Scientists are still trying to figure out the best ways to harness it.
2. Snakes
Venom from Malayan pit vipers can also serve as a life-saving coagulant. Snake venom is probably the most understood and is used to treat heart attacks, blood disorders, high blood pressure, minor heart attacks, blood clots, brain injuries and more. The history of using snake venom in medicinal ways can be traced back thousands of years to when Indian and Chinese cultures used cobra venom. Then in the 1960s, Hugh Alistair Reid made a breakthrough. He was a doctor in Malaya when he discovered that the venom from Malayan pit vipers could help with blood clotting. This eureka moment led to many more discoveries by others.
3. Scorpions
Scorpion venom may aid the fight against cancer. Researchers are currently studying how venom from several different animals could help with the treatment and cure of cancer, and scorpion venom is key to that work. The toxins are believed to help shrink tumors and slow their growth. While scientists test the toxic effects of the venom on cancer cells, there's hope for what they might learn next.
4. Spiders
Despite its ominous name and appearance, the black widow's venom has proven beneficial to medical science. It's hard to convince an anti-spider person to embrace these eight-legged crawlers, but they deserve some props. Spider venom has been proven to fight pain, cancer, muscular dystrophy and other diseases. The black widow has some of the most beneficial venom, but other spiders with beneficial venom include the brown recluse, parson spider and the sac spider. Even if you can’t learn to love spiders, you can at least appreciate them from a distance.
5. Bees
Provided you're not allergic to it, it's possible to build up an immunity to bee sting venom. Most people don't realize that a bee sting is a form of venom, but it is. No one likes to get stung by a bee, but evidence shows that it can help you in the long run because it can build up a natural immunity to future stings. (This isn't the case for those who are allergic to bee stings; for that group, the stings can be deadly.) Bee venom therapy (BVT) is also catching on in popularity and being used to treat a variety of diseases and ailments, including arthritis, Lyme disease, eczema, asthma, tumours and more.
These are excellent examples of why it pays to think twice before we dismiss a creature as purely harmful. Almost all species have qualities that we don't fully understand.
They all deserve respect, conservation and study. What no animal deserves is factory farming. Besides, why eat animals when eating a plant-based diet has been proven so much better for our health?
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Source: http://goo.gl/Ha5oag
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