Slashdot Mirror
Alligator Blood May Be Source of New Antibiotics
esocid writes "Biochemists from McNeese State University have described how proteins in gator blood may provide a source of powerful new antibiotics to help fight infections associated with diabetic ulcers and severe burns. This new class of drug could also crack so-called 'superbugs' that are resistant to conventional medication. Previous studies have showed alligators have an unusually strong immune system; unlike humans, alligator immune systems can defend against microorganisms such as fungi, viruses, and bacteria without having prior exposure to them. Scientists believe that this is an evolutionary adaptation to promote quick wound healing, as alligators are often injured during fierce territorial battles."
Good for what ails ya.
'nuff said.
The cost is "being a goddamn ten foot long reptile." The cure is "put it in pills." Sheesh, some transhumanists...
Gators/Crocs are famous for having not changed much since the time of the dinosaurs.
I wonder if since they have a very strong immune system that kills viruses etc so well, if they have not denied themselves the opportunity to incorporate useful viral dna and bacterial plasmids into their own dna. It would be interesting to see if they have a different amount of viral origin genes in their genomes than other animals.
...
There was very recent research that was quite extensive that showed this cost of complexity in evolution is a myth. I don't know why you think it has to come at a cost, it just so happens that alligators needed it to live in their conditions and with their temperaments.
You can sit here all day and question why we don't have some of the obvious advantage traits that any other animal has and the answer is simple: we didn't require it. If humans needed it and didn't have it, we wouldn't be around.
Explain your logic on why this must come at a price? The random evolution happened in alligators and may be present in other animals (or extinct relatives).
My work here is dung.
I am a Muslim, and I can say that in Islam, there is a blanket overruling of all prohibited substances in the course of saving a life, such as eating pork in starvation situations or deriving medicine from alcoholic sources. Deriving medication from pigs would be allowed, and so too would medicine from alligator blood.
Most opiate analgesics and anaesthetics are, for example, prohibited under the intoxication rule (the one that prohibits alcohol), but are allowed in medical situations. Same for alcohol used in field treatment of hypothermia and other emergency situations.
I'm not sure about the Kosher rules in Judaism, but in Islam, any substance of medicinal value is permitted if necessary for the health of the patient.
This rule is conscience based I guess, for all of you thinking of that Simpsons episode where the blind guy was smoking weed for "medicinal purposes".
I hate printers.
As far as I understand, the same is true in Judaism. The "laws of kashrut" are overruled when one's life or health is at stake.
It may be helpful to add that Orthadox Jews traditionally keep kosher on a voluntary, not compulsory, basis. That is, the rules are followed in order to honor god, not because there is some terrible consequence or threat involved if they do not do so. It is not a "keep kosher or go to hell" kind of thing. It is more like "God asks that we keep kosher. We love and honor god, so we will therefore, as a practice of worship and respect, keep kosher as god requests."
Yes, that's the research I was involved in. We actually first discovered this way back in 1999! We tested serum activity (and lysed leucocytes) in Australian saltwater crocodiles and later in 2002 in Australian freshwater crocodiles. We called this antimicrobial peptide "crocodillin". The work from 2005 comes from a project I did with Mark Merchant on saltwater crocs where we tried to learn more about the antimicrobial and antiviral activity. This latest media release is essential the same as the previous work, except this time with American alligators because Mark has more of them in the backyard than he does saltwater crocs. Adam
I made the initial discovery with saltwater crocodiles back in 1999, and my colleague Dr Gill Diamond named the peptide "crocodillin". So this is really a decade old now!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/680840.stm
Adam Britton