Everybody has an inborn fear of spiders and scorpions. And rightly so but consider that some are harmless and fulfil a function in the balance of the eco-system of the world.
Of what use can a nasty looking scorpion be?
Did you know that healthy adults can survive stings by the most venomous species of scorpion?
Recent studies and research have shown the venom of certain species of scorpion can actually benefit humans!
This includes certain types of cancer treatment.
In Mexico researcher have discovered that compounds of the venom of a certain species of scorpion target and destroy cancer cells in laboratory testing. In the venom they found more than 100 species of different proteins and peptides, They then isolated certain peptides which targeted, attached to damaged cancer cells in their tests.
they are now including a further study in a group of 10 peptides for their apparent toxicity to lymphoma cells,
The doctors in Cuba have used the venom of the blue scorpion for more than 20 years to treat certain cancer types.
The promising results are on solid and organ cancers, like lungs pancreas, stomach and brain. So far it has not yielded any positive results on blood-based cancers. The doctors prescribe scorpion venom as an additional treatment to radiations and chemotherapy. This results in a reduction of the size of the tumours,and have few side effects.
Research in Australia has shown that scorpion venom might be the key to new types of pain management drugs..The venom that causes numbness in humans when stung is used to study how pain works and how venom can be adapted to reduce pain in humans.
In Israel the gold scorpion's venom is being studied to the effect on blood pressure, two compounds of venom showed
that one compound lowers blood Pressure the other raised it.
In the testing the toxin from scorpions are attached to dopaminergic neurons and increased the release of dopamine, but so far the toxins show promise for alleviating symptoms of Parkinson's .
In Seattle Washington, the Israeli deathstalker's venom is used to paint tumours prior to brain surgery, This is very interesting, in the sense that researchers use a protein pulled from the scorpion's venom couped with fluorescent molecules light up cancer cells. The protein target the cells, and the molecule illuminates it like a flashlight!
Each scorpion has its own version of venom made up of a complex mixture of chemicals Out of 1,500 known species, only 25 are dangerous. The high density of scorpions in certain areas is important in ecological food webs, as it helps control with insect populations in the environment.
In general, the scorpion fauna is poorly known and researched. More and more species are found but there are not enough researchers.
