Isn't this amazing? Though it's kind of confusing and hard to believe, I think such creatures deserve more attention than fear itself. Since they're already considered deadly, most people would not even try to go near them. Just the sight of these creatures is more than enough to scare you away.
However, do you know that these deadly wildlife/rainforest creatures can also lend you a hand in times of distress? In fact, they are the favorite subjects of many scientists. Their hidden benefits made it possible to discover conventional means to curing serious diseases. Also, we're being taught to accept our differences. ;)
These are some of the top poisonous creatures that could either kill or cure you:
Scorpions would usually use their poison or toxins in order to defend themselves, hunt for their prey as well as drive way rivals when mating. If you accidentally startled a scorpion and it stung you, you might end up dead in an instant or suffer agonizing heart or lung problems.
The good news is, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have discovered that a scorpion's venom can also be used in cancer treatment, particularly to a form of brain cancer called Glioma.
They found out that the venom of the giant Israeli scorpion is harmless to humans but is certainly deadly to its cockroach prey. They tried to inject a drug derived from the venom into cancer-infected human brains; they soon found out that the poison destroyed the glioma cells only and left the surrounding healthy brain cells unscathed.
Poisonous animals or insects usually kill, intentional or not, through fluid secretions such as sweat. As for a poison dart frog, its sweat is not something you should just take for granted. A highly-dangerous neurotoxin called batrachotoxin can ooze from a poison dart frog's pores which will then stop your heart from functioning well. In fact, its poison is used by various tribes in hunting and warfare. It was even considered as a state-of-the-art military technology.
However, such frogs dont directly produce the said toxin or poison. They got it from either the insects they ate that ate poison plants or from the plants itself. So when poison dart frogs have been subjected to experiments, it was found out that the toxin speeds up the heart before putting it to a stop. Thus, patients experiencing cardiac arrest can still be saved once the scientists can successfuly tweak the toxin's elements coming from the frog's sweat. Batrachotoxin is also a potential ingredient in anesthetics.
Nobody wants to bond with vipers no matter how attractive they look. Although some people like to take care of some snakes, jararaca vipers should be an excemption because they are more venomous than you can ever imagine. This viper's venom works in a unique manner. It prevents blood clotting; thus, a victim is killed after bleeding to death. And this is why scientists suggest using small doses of this viper's venom for cardiac patients. It can prevent or stop arteries from hardening; this way, blood clots can be avoided or remedied.
A synthesized version of jararaca viper venom is a significant ingredient in most of today’s ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors. ACE inhibitors slow down the enzymes or prevent it from producing peptides which are causing muscle constriction that can set off a chain reaction around blood vessels. This lowers the risk of high blood pressure leading to heart attack and other ailments. ACE inhibitors with the venom of a jararaca viper are now used to treat millions of people with high blood pressure.
Who would've thought that these creatures we usually consider as nothing but deadly and creepy can actually help save human lives? Well, there are always two sides in a coin, as they say. ;)
But honestly, I felt cold while looking into the photos of these creatures. They're still my least favorite creatures, next to spiders. :D
