Komodo Dragon Venom could be used to treat clots - research

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Snapped

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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."
 
Very interesting, Snapped. I remember reading in Nat Geo a few years ago about how many pharmaceutical companies are now using snake venom in their products.
 
I think most monitors rely on their venom more as a defensive measure than as a method to subdue prey. In my experience they tend to use brute force, rushing at the prey item, seizing it in its jaws, then thrashing until stunned or dead. With the defensive bites I have received the monitor latches and stays on, grinding it's lower jaw, and this is when I notice the pain to intensify. Eventually the monitor lets go and makes a retreat and before you know it your hand is searing with pain, bleeding profusely, and swollen, sometimes for days. Of course in regards to prey, the intense thrashing may also stimulate the venom to flow as well. But death happens swiftly, so what use would their venom be? It's been a while since I've been bitten by any monitor but I remember the experience very clearly. I remember once reading that in Gila Monsters (Heloderma suspectum), a close relative of monitor lizards, that their venom has a curious property of enhancing their victim's memory of the sensations of being bitten. That way if the offender survived the bite it would certainly think twice about messing with Gila Monsters, and in the case of humans, having the ability to communicate to others to keep away, thus providing as an effective deterrent. This is only speculation, and particularly in light of Murph's recent experience (no offense at all Murph and if you wish this taken down, please let me know) but perhaps monitor lizard venom may have similar properties?

when it came to my blk headed.. I was quite nervous and anxious it was nuts how i feeling.... I harbour no I'll feelings towards him and will continue to gain trust and respect.. *just won't be picking him up for a while
 
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