Monday, July 09, 2012

Opossum protein neutralizes nearly all poisons, could have benefits for humans

Eating them probably wouldn't work, because our digestive systems would break down the protein. In animal tests, the protein was injected.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/opossum-protein-makes-them-immune-nearly-poisons-could-190604532.html

By Eric Pfeiffer, Yahoo! News July 9, 2012

Opossums may someday provide an antidote to nearly all forms of poison, including everything from snakebites to ricin.

The Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins has found that the American opossum produces a protein known as Lethal Toxin-Neutralizing Factor (LTNF). And as the Boing Boing blog points out, the LTNF protein is exactly what it sounds like, seeking out otherwise lethal poisons that have entered an opossum's body and neutralizing them.

Amazingly, tests on the opossum LTNF found that the protein even left the marsupial creatures immune to poisons from snakes on other continents that the American opossum had not been previously exposed to.

No comments:

Post a Comment