A Blog by Elby Adamson
A few years ago I received an email that had gone out to people with an interest in the natural world. The email asked if there was an instance where a species that had become extinct was later discovered to have some property that was of tremendous value to mankind.
Some people argue there’s no such thing as a dumb question. I disagree and believe the question just posed is a dumb question. It is meaningless. How would I know later if an extinct species was of great value since it would no longer be around so I could answer the question?
For example, it makes no sense to ask if the passenger pigeon had some gene or other factor that would be of great use in human medicine. There are birds with similar genetic characteristics to passenger pigeons and there have been discussions of using their genes along with genetic “material” recovered from preserved specimens of passenger pigeons to recreate a passenger pigeon. However, the bird created will not be a real passenger pigeon, just something a lot like a passenger pigeon. Once a species is extinct, it is forever extinct.
Of course we might think we want some creatures to become extinct.
Scorpions may be one of those creatures. One has never stung me, but I’m told that if you camp by Milford Lake you should either keep your shoes on or be sure nothing crawls in them. A friend told me a scorpion got in one of his shoes and stung him on a toe. It hurt more than a little, he said.
There are many people who don’t even know we have scorpions in this area, but around Milford Lake and Fort Riley, they are actually fairly common. Perhaps this is a good thing as science continues to find new ways that scorpions can benefit humans.
Scientists believe certain scorpion toxins can be useful in the treatment of autoimmune diseases including multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. One particularly powerful toxin found in the venom of the death stalker scorpion has shown promise for the treatment and diagnosis of various cancers.
Another scorpion’s venom contains elements that kill one malaria parasite and attack another without harming surrounding cells. Researchers have also reported apparent anti-inflammatory properties in the venom of still another scorpion’s venom that may be useful in the treatment of arthritis.
Recently news has been released about a molecule from scorpion venom that “paints” tumors allowing surgeons to see if they have left any cancerous tissue behind when they are removing tumors.
A molecule that illuminates cancer cells—developed from scorpion venom—may someday help surgeons navigate tricky brain surgeries. There is hope the molecule will make difficult surgeries easier and may help develop ways of treating colon, skin, prostate breast and other kinds of cancer.
The goal is to help surgeons navigate difficult tumor-removing operations in real-time, as well as to guide new therapies for brain, breast, prostate, skin, colon, and other cancers.
“We’re hoping with this Tumor Paint tool that they’ll be able to see tumors that the surgeon wasn’t able to get,” he said. “My goal is that surgeons will be able to remove the tumor and give patients a better outcome,” Dr. James Olson told reporter Brian Krans.
Use of scorpions in medicine is not entirely new.
In traditional Chinese medicine scorpions and some snakes are used to make wines that are held to have analgesic properties and are also used as antidotes for poisoning.
For something really weird consider that in some cultures people eat scorpions. In parts of China, a traditional dish is fried scorpion.
It seems highly likely that many other species of animals or plants have properties that we have not yet discovered. It would be a great shame if answers to human needs were pushed out of existence by our indifference and lack of stewardship. Sound stewardship of our natural resources including plants and animals is a hallmark of the Kansas Wildlife Federation.
No comments:
Post a Comment