Get the latest tech news

Bugs, drugs and electric venom: is this the most deadly library in the world?


For people in north Queensland, a bright green caterpillar’s sting ‘feels like the seven rings of hell’. But scientists in Brisbane hope its toxin can be used to help, not harm

King says it would have been impossible to study this amount of venom just 20 years ago but technological advances have enabled researchers to identify peptides from minuscule volumes. In the case of the asp caterpillar, a moth larva which looks like a toupee, Walker found evidence that it may have acquired its toxic capabilities via gene transfer with bacteria many millions of years ago. King notes that pain from jellyfish stings can be alleviated by heat and Walker’s work has shown that peptides in asp caterpillar venom break down at higher temperatures.

Get the Android app

Or read this on Hacker News

Read more on:

Photo of World

World

Photo of Bugs

Bugs

Photo of drugs

drugs

Related news:

News photo

What good are whizzy new drugs if the world can't afford them?

News photo

What we've been playing - wells, late-night pictures, and the world's largest patch notes

News photo

The exponential growth of solar power will change the world