Adorable, quirky and the fact they look like the love child
of a duck and beaver
makes the platypus a truly fascinating creature.
Surprisingly, Its appearance isn't the selling feature
of what makes it so unusual.
"Are you for real?"
This oddball mammal can produce venom
capable of killing small animals.
this same venom could be used to help treat a disease
in humans.
"I like the sound of that."
Let's take a dip with this little weirdo
and see if we can save the day.
Platypuses can be found hiding out in rivers
and streams across eastern Australia.
When scientists first saw sketches of the platypus,
they thought they were being pranked.
"Is this a joke?"
Some even went as far as to check for stitches,
thinking someone had sewn a beak on another animal.
To find its food, it uses its bill.
It's covered in electroreceptors
that track its prey's electrical activity
like muscle contractions and heart signals.
A platypus bill has around 40,000 of these receptors.
Considering it spends half the day trying to eat 20%
of its body weight, it's a strong asset to have.
Their strange traits continue if you look a little closer.
Male platypus' have spurs on their hind feet
that can release venom.
Now you might be thinking that they use this venom
to hunt prey or as a defense mechanism against predators.
It's strong enough to do that, but this is not the case.
Males release it when they want to mate with
female platypuses and scare away other competing males.
Ah, the things we do for love.
"I'm pretty sure that's not love."
Platypuses release an important hormone called
glucagon-like peptide-1 or GLP-1
in both their gut and venom that regulates blood sugar by
stimulating insulin production.
Humans also release this in their gut,
but it degrades in a matter of minutes.
The short time that this hormone works is not enough
to keep their blood sugar levels balanced
since not enough insulin is produced.
The GLP-1 hormone in platypuses
has developed a resistance to the usual degradation,
resulting in it staying in your system longer
and making it ideal for diabetes treatment.
No need to worry, though. We don't need platypuses on tap
to extract this hormone. Thank goodness.
We can produce the stable form of GLP-1 in laboratories.
Further research of platypus venom could go a long way
in diabetes treatment.
Adding to a plethora of bizarre attributes,
the female platypus doesn't have nipples
so they will "sweat" milk onto its lap
so these little critters can feed on it.
"I have nipples Greg, Could you milk me?"
This milk has the potential to be one of the most important
substances to humankind.
So what makes it so special?
Its lactation protein is a unique shape. Curly.
Out of 100,000 protein structures
that have been studied to date, the platypus is the only
one with curly proteins.
"Impressive."
And these curls kill off bacteria.
Researchers believe the milk might have evolved this way
because it stays out in the open,
making it more vulnerable to bugs and bacteria.
This is a big deal considering the World Health Organization
states that antibiotic resistance
is “one of the biggest threats to global health,
food security and development”.
So, if platypuses can help us develop new or more effective
antibiotics, we could be saved from a world where
a simple infection could kill you.
I never thought I'd say this, but I'm so thankful
platypuses don't have nipples.
Platypuses aren't the only animal
helping us develop treatments.
Check out our episode on horseshoe crabs
and how they could be the key to COVID-19 vaccines.
Helping treat diabetes with their venom
and creating antibiotics with their milk
is what platypuses do.
And that's what makes them Crazy Creatures.