Venom
Alex Slocum
Mirabile
Biology II
20 September 2013
“Venom: The Bite That Heals” Summary Nearly as long as humans have existed, they have used animals and plants for medicine and treatment. Specifically the venom of animals have been used to treat ailments ranging from stroke to sore throats. As early as 67 BC written records of venom being administered to cure or save a person were found. Mithradates VI of Pontus was reported to have used snake venom from a Steppe Viper to save his life not once but twice. Recently a man named Michael was the victim of a scorpion sting after it hid in the seat of his swim trunks. For eight years before that Michael endured a sort of spinal arthritis which caused him excruciating pain and agony to the point of immobilization. After the sting however Michael no is no longer bothered by the condition and is essentially pain free. This interesting discovery and the past uses of venom in medicine has started a trend of pharmaceutical companies racing to incorporate these toxins in potentially life saving drugs. A new branch of pharmacology was formed which was centered around venom. Takacs, a 44 year old Hungarian, recently started the World Toxin Bank. Takacs travels around the world collecting samples to be used in cunning new medicines. He samples from all kinds of animals including mammals, reptiles, fish, or anything else with venom. Cone snails are lethal enough to kill a human with one sting, however their venom can be used to cure a disease. During Takacs research he discovered that even within a single species the exact makeup of the venom differs from animal to animal.
In the early 1900s low concentrations of snake venom was promoted to cure small ailments to huge diseases. In the 1960s the first hard research was done to use venom as a viable cure. Pit Viper venom was researched in the 1970s to eventually form the world's first hypertension drug. Modern day hypertension drugs fetch billions of dollars a year. In
Mirabile
Biology II
20 September 2013
“Venom: The Bite That Heals” Summary Nearly as long as humans have existed, they have used animals and plants for medicine and treatment. Specifically the venom of animals have been used to treat ailments ranging from stroke to sore throats. As early as 67 BC written records of venom being administered to cure or save a person were found. Mithradates VI of Pontus was reported to have used snake venom from a Steppe Viper to save his life not once but twice. Recently a man named Michael was the victim of a scorpion sting after it hid in the seat of his swim trunks. For eight years before that Michael endured a sort of spinal arthritis which caused him excruciating pain and agony to the point of immobilization. After the sting however Michael no is no longer bothered by the condition and is essentially pain free. This interesting discovery and the past uses of venom in medicine has started a trend of pharmaceutical companies racing to incorporate these toxins in potentially life saving drugs. A new branch of pharmacology was formed which was centered around venom. Takacs, a 44 year old Hungarian, recently started the World Toxin Bank. Takacs travels around the world collecting samples to be used in cunning new medicines. He samples from all kinds of animals including mammals, reptiles, fish, or anything else with venom. Cone snails are lethal enough to kill a human with one sting, however their venom can be used to cure a disease. During Takacs research he discovered that even within a single species the exact makeup of the venom differs from animal to animal.
In the early 1900s low concentrations of snake venom was promoted to cure small ailments to huge diseases. In the 1960s the first hard research was done to use venom as a viable cure. Pit Viper venom was researched in the 1970s to eventually form the world's first hypertension drug. Modern day hypertension drugs fetch billions of dollars a year. In