Snake Venom "better painkiller" than morphine

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Mob Rules

Bluelighter
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Dec 17, 2009
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19812064

A painkiller as powerful as morphine, but without most of the side-effects, has been found in the deadly venom of the black mamba, say French scientists.

The predator, which uses neurotoxins to paralyse and kill small animals, is one of the fastest and most dangerous snakes in Africa.

However, tests on mice, reported in the journal Nature, showed its venom also contained a potent painkiller.

They admit to being completely baffled about why the mamba would produce it.

The researchers looked at venom from 50 species before they found the black mamba's pain-killing proteins - called mambalgins.


Venomous species inflict poisonous wounds by stinging, scratching or biting their victims and injecting the toxin.

Snakes are venomous creatures which loom large in the public consciousness, but nature also throws up some surprising species with toxic bites:


Dr Eric Lingueglia, from the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology near Nice, told the BBC: "When it was tested in mice, the analgesia was as strong as morphine, but you don't have most of the side-effects."
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Every few years they come along with some venom that is supposed to be XXXX times stronger then morphine without the side effects like addiction. I suspect this is the same as that snail venom that was supposed to be a wonder drug but flopped.
 
damn it iv just read this on bbc new was going to post it . like its they cant understand why it would make the pain killer it goes against logic as in the more pain the less chance its pray can escape ?
 
^ I dunno man, have you ever tried physical activity while super anesthetized? Pain keeps one alert and focused, which is not ideal when trying to easily capture prey - by keeping the animals groggy and docile the snake has a much better chance of feeding without injury.
 
All this does is make me want a cobra again.

Which I can get albino leucistic monacled hatchlings for a great price btw. So poisonous but so tempting.

I'll stick with the morphine for getting high. I need that venom for, well... duh... antivenom.
 
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