Honeybee Venom-New Weapon in Fight against Cancer
We need to do even more to stop the killing of millions and millions of honeybees, and there’s even more urgency today as locked within the honeybee’s painful sting is a toxin that could fight cancer, CNN reports. While in its early stages, research shows that venom from bees, snakes, and scorpions can stop the growth of cancer cells.
University of Illinois scientist Dipanjan Pan has taken the research one step further by eliminating the toxin’s dangerous side effects (swelling, blood clots, heart damage), which have stymied its use as a cancer treatment. His team synthetically replicated the cancer-fighting element in bee venom called melittin—there’s too little of it to use the natural stuff, the American Chemical Society explains.
Pan “tightly packed” this synthetic melittin into a nanoparticle to keep the toxins from leaking into the blood stream and causing trouble. “These particles, which are camouflaged from the immune system, take the toxin directly to the cancer cells, sparing normal tissue,” Pan says. The treatment would turn tumors into unavoidable targets while leaving healthy cells alone. Pan will now test these venom-infused nanoparticles on cancer cells in rats and pigs. Human tests will follow, and the whole process could take up to five years. Ultimately, Pan’s find could lead to new cancer drugs.
About Post Author
Professor Mike
More Stories
What in the World Happened to the Ginger Kitten?
The abrupt sound of multiple barks pierced the stillness of the night. It was an unsettling deviation from their customary...
Warning: Be Careful When Walking Your Dog In Alligator Country
Mike McCoy has read up a bit on alligator attacks and he knew what to do if you find yourself in one—and good thing too.
MadMikesAmerica To Remain Open For Business
We are staying open. MMA may not be as active as it once was, but why close this one, with all those articles still available to read, and maybe more to come?
Fox News Guest: Ghoulish Trump Has Blood On His Hands
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) told Fox News on Sunday that former President Donald Trump is guilty of a “ghoulish” attempt to undermine the economy by downplaying the need for Covid-19 vaccinations.
Disgusting Ted Cruz Forgets History of Conservatives Like Elvis Promoting Vaccines
Recently, the beloved Sesame Street character Big Bird went on television and social media to promote COVID-19 vaccines. For anyone who has been conscious for at least a few years, celebrities—especially ones with larger fanbases amongst the youth of the country—promoting public health initiatives is not surprising. It has been going on forever and ever.
Crazy Louie Gohmert: Climate Action Would Force Us To Brush Our Teeth With Bark
[caption id="attachment_187456" align="aligncenter" width="615"] Getty images[/caption] by Aldous J. Pennyfarthing How the hell did Republican Louie Gohmert of Texas ever become...
Agreed
Interesting…
There has been one “folk treatment” for MS of ” bee sting therapy”. I had always just assumed it was just another “wishful thinking” thing, not unlike eliminating NutraSweet from your diet and removing all of the amalgam fillings from your mouth. Certainly, all of the research that I’ve seen about this has been inconclusive at best; I had not previously realized that there could actually be a justification for the thought that bee stings would have any effect whatsoever, much less a positive effect. I have to remember that in my effort to not be sucked in by snake oil theories, I still need to keep an open mind and not be totally prejudiced. I do continue to try to follow currently available research.
Fascinating stuff Marsha. I expect we have just cracked the surface when it comes to all the good things that might be out there if we know where we look.
takes on some urgency for me. was at a “climate change” discussion last night where i heard that many growers in brazil are having to pollinate plants by hand these days. it seems that many of the species of insect that God put on this earth to do such work are disappearing at alarming rates. climate change, though, being a hoax and all, has nothing to do with it.