Detail Toxic Machine; Drug Research   Oleh:  [s.n] Jenis: Article from Bulletin/Magazine Dalam koleksi: The Economist (http://search.proquest.com/) vol. 406 no. 8817 (Jan. 2013), page 60-61. Topik: Snake Venom; Medicine; Antisera Ketersediaan Perpustakaan Pusat (Semanggi) Nomor Panggil: EE29.75 Non-tandon: 1 (dapat dipinjam: 0) Tandon: tidak ada     Lihat Detail Induk Isi artikel Snake venom is being used to cure, rather than kill "There are no poisons, only poisonous doses." Thus did Paracelsus, the greatest of the alchemists, encapsulate an important piece of medical wisdom. In fact, that is only half the story, for many materials which are toxic at high doses, when used sparingly and directed at specific targets, are not merely harmless, but actually beneficial. Plant poisons, from digitalis to curare, are routinely employed as drugs. And now it is the turn of animal toxins, as researchers examine venoms secreted by snakes and lizards, to see if they, too, might be turned into treatments. Snake venom, collected from farmed reptiles, has been used to make antisera for snake bites for decades by injecting it into mammals such as sheep and horses, and collecting the antibodies thus generated. Making drugs from the venom itself, however, is a fairly new idea. But that is what Stefan Hailey of the University of Delaware and his colleagues hope to do. In a paper published recently by Toxicon, they report how a protein called eristostatin, which can be extracted from the venom of the Asian sand viper, helps people's immune systems fight malignant melanoma. Previous studies have shown that eristostatin stops melanoma cells colonising the liver and lungs in mice. Dr Hailey is trying to work out how this happens. Opini Anda Klik untuk menuliskan opini Anda tentang koleksi ini! Kembali

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