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Exploring the evolution of spider venom to improve human health |
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Exploring the evolution of spider venom to improve human health
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Darrell Miller | 11/02/16 |
Date:
November 02, 2016 02:09 PM
Author: Darrell Miller
(support@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Exploring the evolution of spider venom to improve human health
There are millions of venom compounds that could potentially serve to increase our working knowledge of how spider venom works and how it could work for us. These scientists are studying the proteins in the spider venom to acquire a greater understanding of anti-venom potential, as well as other medicines and insecticides.
Key Takeaways:
- Google Trends pegs "Spider" as the 87th most searched-for Halloween costume, right between "Hippie" and "The Renaissance.
- More than 46,000 species of spiders creepy crawl across the globe, on every continent except Antarctica.
- Among the handful of brave scientists studying spider venom are Greta Binford at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon and Jessica Garb at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.
"Both of these researchers analyze the protein structures of various venom chemicals in search of clues that can explain why some are lethal, while the vast majority are thought to be relatively harmless."
Reference:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161028090146.htm
