Posted on 01/13/2010 12:57:24 PM PST by decimon
Abandon any notion that the duck-billed platypus is a soft and cuddly creature -- maybe like Perry the Platypus in the Phineas and Ferb cartoon. This platypus, renowned as one of the few mammals that lay eggs, also is one of only a few venomous mammals. The males can deliver a mega-sting that causes immediate, excruciating pain, like hundreds of hornet stings, leaving victims incapacitated for weeks. Now scientists are reporting an advance toward deciphering the chemical composition of the venom, with the first identification of a dozen protein building blocks. Their study is in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, a weekly publication.
Masaki Kita, Daisuke Uemura, and colleagues note that spurs in the hind limb of the male platypus can deliver the venom, a cocktail of substances that cause excruciating pain. The scientists previously showed that the venom triggers certain chemical changes in cultured human nerve cells that can lead to the sensation of pain. Until now, however, scientists did not know the exact components of the venom responsible for this effect.
To unlock its secrets, the scientists collected samples of platypus venom and used high-tech analytical instruments to separate and characterize its components. They identified 11 new peptides, or protein subunits, in the venom. Studies using nerve cells suggest that one of these substances, called Heptapeptide 1, is the main agent responsible for triggering pain. The substance appears to work by interacting with certain receptors in the nerve cells, they suggest.
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ARTICLE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE "Duck-Billed Platypus Venom Peptides Induce Ca2+ Influx in Neuroblastoma Cells"
DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT ARTICLE http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/ja908148z
CONTACT:
Masaki Kita, Ph.D. Graduate School of Pure and Applied Sciences University of Tsukuba Tsukuba, Japan Email: mkita@chem.tsukuba.ac.jp or
Daisuke Uemura, Ph.D. Department of Biosciences and Informatics Keio University Yokohama, Japan Email: uemura@bio.keio.ac.jp
unghh...
Sounds like a good drug to use for use in interrogating terrorists.
... when God has spare parts late on the 6th day ...
So cute. I can’t resist. I have to go pat it.
Prior to reading the article I would have looked at the pic you posted and said “Awwwwww.........how CUTE!!!!!!!!!!” but having read it, I feel like ‘hey...is he staring at...me?’
Yeah, and we can watch the guy from “Dirty Jobs” milking the hind legs of the male platypus.
Hey. Has anyone seen Perry?
Australia. Where even the mammals are poisonous.
What’s next...koalas?
>> [platypus] is one of only a few venomous mammals
You mean there’s OTHER venomous mammals besides Platy? (Never mind the obvious ones, like Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clintoon, Martha Coakley. On second thought, those may be reptiles.)
Why yes, it turns out there ARE more!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venomous_mammals
>> milking the hind legs of the male platypus.
Sounds like a job Barney Frank would enjoy.
Amen!! And HE has a sense of humor in Creation!!!
My Labs may not be venomous, but they can clear out a room with their intestinal gas.
My gas runs the dogs out of the room before I can blame them, LOL!
Let me tell you about those dam pit koalas
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