This is quite interesting.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-...to-treat-life-threatening-blood-clots/8786054
Venom from the world's largest lizard is being hailed as the key to a potential new drug to prevent and treat life-threatening blood clots.
A Queensland researcher has travelled the world to milk venom from rare Komodo dragons by encouraging them to bite into rubber toys to extract and test the potential of their venom to treat some of the most common fatal conditions.
Scientists only discovered that some lizards are venomous about 11 years ago, and until now believed the poison caused nothing more than pain and swelling when someone is bitten.
University of Queensland Associate Professor Bryan Fry said the discovery that lizard venom could cure common health issues was a major breakthrough.
"Blood clots are a huge public health concern ranging from deep vein thrombosis to stroke to types of heart attack caused by them so you're talking about something that affects and kills millions of people across the globe every year," he said.
Sixteen species from Australia, Asia, and Africa — including the iconic Komodo dragon — were tested over three years for the research, published in the journal Toxins.
The team of experts, including Associate Professor Fry discovered the venom worked as a type of blood thinner, preventing clots from forming or helping to break them down.
How to milk a Komodo dragon
It took years to perfect the right technique to milk venom from a large lizard.
"The way that we do it is we have them chew on something soft, whether a soft piece of rubber tubing or a rubber chicken, and the venom just flows out the side," Mr Fry said.
He said University of Queensland researchers would now spend years in a testing phase in a lab, trying to replicate the venom's powers.
"Now that we have the function of these compounds now we'll start making new versions of them and playing around with it," he said.
But people should not expect to see lizard venom on pharmacy shelves as a drug anytime soon.
"It's impossible to predict if and when it becomes a medication but it has the immediate application not only on shedding light upon how venom evolved but we can use these to learn more about blood clots," he said.
"We now have a lot more new knowledge and we also have a lot more awareness of why we should conserve all of nature because you can't predict where the next wonder drug is going to come from.
"It could come from something as unlikely as the Komodo dragon."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-...to-treat-life-threatening-blood-clots/8786054
Venom from the world's largest lizard is being hailed as the key to a potential new drug to prevent and treat life-threatening blood clots.
A Queensland researcher has travelled the world to milk venom from rare Komodo dragons by encouraging them to bite into rubber toys to extract and test the potential of their venom to treat some of the most common fatal conditions.
Scientists only discovered that some lizards are venomous about 11 years ago, and until now believed the poison caused nothing more than pain and swelling when someone is bitten.
University of Queensland Associate Professor Bryan Fry said the discovery that lizard venom could cure common health issues was a major breakthrough.
"Blood clots are a huge public health concern ranging from deep vein thrombosis to stroke to types of heart attack caused by them so you're talking about something that affects and kills millions of people across the globe every year," he said.
Sixteen species from Australia, Asia, and Africa — including the iconic Komodo dragon — were tested over three years for the research, published in the journal Toxins.
The team of experts, including Associate Professor Fry discovered the venom worked as a type of blood thinner, preventing clots from forming or helping to break them down.
How to milk a Komodo dragon
It took years to perfect the right technique to milk venom from a large lizard.
"The way that we do it is we have them chew on something soft, whether a soft piece of rubber tubing or a rubber chicken, and the venom just flows out the side," Mr Fry said.
He said University of Queensland researchers would now spend years in a testing phase in a lab, trying to replicate the venom's powers.
"Now that we have the function of these compounds now we'll start making new versions of them and playing around with it," he said.
But people should not expect to see lizard venom on pharmacy shelves as a drug anytime soon.
"It's impossible to predict if and when it becomes a medication but it has the immediate application not only on shedding light upon how venom evolved but we can use these to learn more about blood clots," he said.
"We now have a lot more new knowledge and we also have a lot more awareness of why we should conserve all of nature because you can't predict where the next wonder drug is going to come from.
"It could come from something as unlikely as the Komodo dragon."
