(ANIMAL NEWS) Will possums soon be able to cause immortality amongst us humans? Not quite, but the protein they produce, LTNF, has been proven to seek out and neutralize deadly poisons in the body. Tests on mice showed that the protein was able to kill off diseases and leave the mice completely unharmed. While this animal testing was conducted more than ten years ago, animal rights activists lie baffled as scientists continue to ponder whether or not this creature could provide a whole new world for humans, and the tests live on. — Global Animal
Yahoo News, Eric Pfeiffer
Opossums may someday provide an antidote to nearly all forms of poison, including everything from snakebites to ricin.
The Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins has found that the American opossum produces a protein known as Lethal Toxin-Neutralizing Factor (LTNF). And as the Boing Boing blog points out, the LTNF protein is exactly what it sounds like, seeking out otherwise lethal poisons that have entered an opossum’s body and neutralizing them.
Amazingly, tests on the opossum LTNF found that the protein even left the marsupial creatures immune to poisons from snakes on other continents that the American opossum had not been previously exposed to.
The BittelMeThis blog goes into further detail, explaining that scientists then injected mice with the LTNF protein and subjected the rodents to venom from otherwise deadly creatures, including Thailand cobras, Australian taipans, Brazilian rattlesnakes, scorpions and honeybees.
When the venom did not kill the mice, the mice were then exposed to deadly poisons, including ricin and botulinum toxin. And again, the LTNF protein was able to diffuse the poison, leaving the mice unharmed.
Interestingly, the journal entry on LTNF was published more than 10 years ago, in 1999. As several readers have pointed out, this raises questions as to whether the protein benefits would be applicable to humans and why the test results are only now making news.
As the journal’s own abstract notes, “Thus, natural LTNF from opossum serum has potential as a universal therapy for envenomation caused by animals, plants and bacteria.”
More Yahoo News: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/opossum-protein-makes-them-immune-nearly-poisons-could-190604532.html
and Possum is considered one of the dirtiest animals on the planet. Great, another animal to exploit! Leave them be and live naturally!
I agree whit you Michelle. But unfurtunately they test on people what already tested on animals..:(
Never. Not in my mind. There are too many other possibilities and methods nowadays that allow us to skip animal testing and research altogether.
Never. Not in my mind. There are too many other possibilities and methods nowadays that allow us to skip animal testing and research altogether.
There are many things that will aid in ending or limiting disease and the answer is NOT to use animals more but to use them less! People who do not consume animals have an enormously better chance of not contracting many common diseases.More…
No! Test on people! People have the choice to decide if they want to be tested on and some even get paid to test in trials of medications or procedures. Animals have no choice. Just because we can test on animals, doesn’t mean we should.
No! Test on people! People have the choice to decide if they want to be tested on and some even get paid to test in trials of medications or procedures. Animals have no choice. Just because we can test on animals, doesn’t mean we should.