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MIT engineers repurpose wasp venom as an antibiotic drug
The venom of insects such as wasps and bees is full of compounds that can kill bacteria. Unfortunately, many of these compounds are also toxic for humans, making it impossible to use them as antibiotic drugs.
After performing a systematic study of the antimicrobial properties of a toxin normally found in a South American wasp, researchers at MIT have now created variants of the peptide that are potent against bacteria but nontoxic to human cells.
In a study of mice, the researchers found that their strongest peptide could completely eliminate Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a strain of bacteria that causes respiratory and other infections and is resistant to most antibiotics.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Runaway1956 on Sunday December 09 2018, @05:08PM (5 children)
"Are you allergic to anything?"
"Work, pain, sharps, and stupid people."
"How about wasps?"
"They've never bothered me, aside from that sharp pointy ovipositor thing."
"You don't have reactions to wasp stings, then?"
"Never have.?
"Fine then, we're going to start you on this experimental antibiotic, which probably won't have any side effects, such as giant wasps eating their way out of your chest, ala Alien."
"That's what I like about you, Doc. You have a helluva bedside manner."
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by legont on Sunday December 09 2018, @05:14PM (4 children)
There are urban legends about an exceptional health of bee keepers all the time and in distant cultures. My childhood image of a bee guy is a white bearded old man teasing a young woman. Perhaps we adapt to the poison but enjoy the protection?
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday December 09 2018, @05:17PM
Yes, women do adapt to us poisonous old men, but they enjoy our protection.
Oh, wait - that isn't what you meant? :^)
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Ethanol-fueled on Monday December 10 2018, @12:46AM (2 children)
It's the honey they eat, not the bee poison. If they weren't being stung by bees all the damn time they'd be Nazi supermen.
(Score: 2) by legont on Monday December 10 2018, @01:03AM (1 child)
Didn't you mistype eat with drink?
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by arulatas on Tuesday December 11 2018, @04:35PM
Mead it does a body good.
----- 10 turns around
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Sunday December 09 2018, @05:34PM (12 children)
A friend of mine was a very dedicated SCUBA diver. When she was at UCSC she got the totally awesome job of spending the Summer on a boat just off of Fiji collecting as many different species of sponges as she possibly could.
It was hoped that some of those sponges would contain anti-cancer toxins, but I don't think any of them did. Even so, this kind of thing - collecting lots of different species - is widely practiced by the research community, and does from time to time pay off handsomely.
It happened that when the bark of a certain willow tree was found to ease the symptoms of Malaria, aspirin came into widespread use because the Quinine-containing bark of a certain tree that really - back in those days - _cured_ Malaria was so very expensive.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 09 2018, @06:38PM (4 children)
There's also the fact that the cinchona tree is significantly rarer than the willow tree, hence quinine was naturally more expensive. Aspirin was synthesized as early as 1853 while quinine wasn't synthesized until 1944.
But don't let facts ruin the dishonest spirit of your narrative, you lying turd.
Fuck MDC
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Sunday December 09 2018, @07:01PM (2 children)
Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of Soggy Jobs.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 09 2018, @07:06PM (1 child)
As soon as you break the internet with your fabled exploit and bring down every online job board along with it, your Soggy Jobs newsletter will corner the market on job listings.
Fuck MDC
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Monday December 10 2018, @12:55AM
Take your meds, MDC.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 10 2018, @01:09AM
Salty Spice! How are you? We've missed you and your predictably ineffective exclamations.
Try to dig up some new material, will you mate? It's getting a bit mundane.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 09 2018, @06:48PM (6 children)
Then they find the thing and patent on some foreing plant, making illegal to local dwellers to use the thing because of Copyrights.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 09 2018, @07:02PM (2 children)
As soon as I patent shitposting, I'm gonna be rich! Head to toe Prada, Benz in the driveway, yacht in the water.
[Note to self: don't even bother quoting contemporary charting songs on forums populated by oblivious idiots who will never recognize the songs.]
(Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 09 2018, @07:33PM (1 child)
All the proof I need that Soylentils are the worst people.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 10 2018, @01:47AM
You troll, then get modded "Troll", and then troll for being modded "Troll"? That's just like posting something insightful, getting modded insightful, and then posting an insightful follow-up. Well, there's one tiny difference, but I'm sure the subtlety isn't lost on you.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Sunday December 09 2018, @07:03PM
What? Would you just let those people waste that resource by using it to treat their ills without paying a massive licensing fee?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 09 2018, @07:05PM (1 child)
Well, if you don't like aspirin, you can still get (white) willow bark...
https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-955/willow-bark [webmd.com]
No one seems to have patented/registered/copyrighted it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 09 2018, @07:09PM
If you don't like buying the bark, chew a willow tree.
Cinchona bark makes some good tea.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 10 2018, @12:14AM (1 child)
I'm going repurpose the word use.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 10 2018, @01:49AM
We'd be satisfied if someday you used the word repurpose.