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10 of 2012

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Research

Treatments from Toxins: New Drugs May Come from Some Dangerous
Places

Toxins are increasingly proving to be attractive sources
of potentially life-saving drugs

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King Cobra: Taking the Bite Out of Morphine

By Claire
Groden July 12, 20130

Getty Images/Flickr / Shraddha
Rathi

One bite of a King Cobra could kill a human, but that fatal venom could also
hold the key to relieving chronic pain and pain during surgery. Professor
Manjunatha Kini of the National University of Singapore, who is developing the
compound, says that it could be 20 to 200 times more potent than morphine. Like
the pufferfish toxin, though, King Cobra poison lacks the addictive properties
of that painkiller and others like it currently on the market. Within a year,
Kini hopes to test the drug in patients. In recent animal tests, mice receiving
the agent were able to withstand almost twice the thermal pain of animals that
did not take the compound.

Next Tick:
Clearing Up Clots

Full List

Toxins

Potions from Poison?

Pufferfish: Canceling Chemo Pain

Shark: Making Bacteria Feel Unwelcome

King Cobra: Taking the Bite Out of Morphine

Tick: Clearing Up Clots

Sea Anemone: Retraining Immune Cells

Fire-Bellied Toad: Healing Wounds

Waxy Monkey Frog: Keeping Blood Vessels in Check

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