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Will Fly-Eating Plants Save Human Lives? (Contain Anti-Fungal Drugs)
Israel National News ^ | Feb 18, 2010 | Baruch Gordon

Posted on 02/18/2010 9:01:03 PM PST by bogusname

(IsraelNN.com) n the tropics, carnivorous plants trap unsuspecting prey in a cavity filled with liquid known as a "pitcher."

The moment insects like flies, ants and beetles fall into a pitcher, the plant's enzymes are activated and begin dissolving their new meal, obtaining nutrients such as carbon and nitrogen which are difficult to extract from certain soils. Carnivorous plants also possess a highly developed set of compounds and secondary metabolites to aid in their survival. These compounds could serve as a new class of anti-fungal drugs for use in human medicine, says Prof. Aviah Zilberstein of Tel Aviv University's Department of Plant Sciences. In a study conducted together with Dr. Haviva Eilenberg from her lab, Prof. Esther Segal from the Sackler Faculty of Medicine and Prof. Shmuel Carmeli from the School of Chemistry, the unusual components from the plants’ pitchers were found effective as anti-fungal drugs against human fungal infections widespread in hospitals. The primary results are encouraging.

(Excerpt) Read more at israelnationalnews.com ...


TOPICS: Health/Medicine; Science
KEYWORDS: antifungal; medicine

1 posted on 02/18/2010 9:01:05 PM PST by bogusname
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To: bogusname; Revolting cat!
PETCP is going to throw a fit over this testing

* People for the Ethical Treatment of Carnivorous Plants

2 posted on 02/18/2010 9:03:32 PM PST by a fool in paradise (DON'T SAY "Happy Valentines' Day". It's Happy Holidays! This is the Holiday Season (Prez Day Feb15))
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To: bogusname

Yummy!


3 posted on 02/18/2010 9:11:37 PM PST by Mark (Don't argue with my posts. I typed while under sniper fire..)
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To: a fool in paradise; bogusname

You mean there’s hope for my toenail fungus?


4 posted on 02/18/2010 9:11:59 PM PST by sinanju
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To: a fool in paradise

LOL Oh no don’t do that. Some liberal fool will go out and start such a group and it’ll just give Obama another place to throw our money.


5 posted on 02/18/2010 9:14:25 PM PST by bogusname (Banish All Liberals)
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To: 2ndreconmarine; Fitzcarraldo; Covenantor; Mother Abigail; EBH; Dog Gone; ...

Ping!


6 posted on 02/18/2010 9:35:26 PM PST by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
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To: bogusname

They are going to spend gobs of cash trying to create franken-flyeatingplants that will crave tofu instead.


7 posted on 02/18/2010 9:50:22 PM PST by a fool in paradise (DON'T SAY "Happy Valentines' Day". It's Happy Holidays! This is the Holiday Season (Prez Day Feb15))
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To: a fool in paradise

Hey I got the cameras and you got the script so lets do it. It’ll be a box office smash. Would you have any problem with Bruce Willis playing the lead role?


8 posted on 02/18/2010 10:03:27 PM PST by bogusname (Banish All Liberals)
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To: Smokin' Joe

Thanks for the ping!


9 posted on 02/18/2010 10:04:39 PM PST by Alamo-Girl
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To: bogusname
Certainly not. Especially if a featured victim was Bela Pelosi trapped in a huge pitcher plant, or ol' Dingy Reid falling into an oversized Venus Flytrap plant nose-first.

Or Chuck U Schumer getting caught in ANY (don't care) whorehouse in Jersey. Same difference, really -- just a different class of carnivore.

10 posted on 02/18/2010 11:04:58 PM PST by SAJ
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To: SAJ

Oh OK. I knew no one would listen to me if I used this bogus name.

Regretful in Hollywood,
S. Spielberg AKA bogusname


11 posted on 02/18/2010 11:37:37 PM PST by bogusname (Banish All Liberals)
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To: bogusname


12 posted on 02/18/2010 11:43:34 PM PST by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet)
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To: JoeProBono

That’s pretty cool.


13 posted on 02/18/2010 11:46:49 PM PST by bogusname (Banish All Liberals)
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To: bogusname

Harrison Ford isn’t available?


14 posted on 02/19/2010 7:28:51 AM PST by null and void (We are now in day 393 of our national holiday from reality. - 0bama really isn't one of US.)
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To: bogusname

15 posted on 02/19/2010 7:30:34 AM PST by dfwgator
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To: no one in particular

16 posted on 02/19/2010 7:30:46 AM PST by null and void (We are now in day 393 of our national holiday from reality. - 0bama really isn't one of US.)
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