We’ve made a list of some weird,
wonderful and
terrifying animals
that are helping us fight the most
challenging diseases of our times.
Stay tuned, and you'll have the answer shortly.
Let's start with my all-time favorite little weirdo
This freaky little Australian mammal
may have the answer to managing
type 2 diabetes.
Male platypuses produce venom
to scare each other off
during the mating season.
This venom won’t kill a human,
but you would feel a lot of pain.
Scientists have found that this venom
is rich in a key metabolic hormone
called exenatide.
The human gut releases an inferior,
venom-free version of the same hormone
that stimulates your body to release insulin
and reduce your blood sugar level.
The hormone is called GLP-1,
and it lasts only for a few minutes
at a time in your gut.
But the special brew of venom and GLP-1
in male platypuses resists degrading
and lasts a lot longer.
This could help people with type 2 diabetes.
Who would’ve thought that with a grim name like that,
this tiny desert scorpion
could help us fight one of the deadliest diseases?
Found in the deserts of the Middle East
and Northern Africa,
the deathstalker scorpion’s venom
has an ingredient called chlorotoxin
that binds to cancer cells.
One of the biggest obstacles to curing cancer
is that it's difficult to identify
which cells are cancerous,
especially in complex areas like the brain.
Scientists now use this scorpion's venom
to carry fluorescent dyes
to cancer cells and highlight them,
helping to detect cancer through scans.
The venom can also carry
some drugs to the cancerous cells.
And the chlorotoxin in the venom
blocks the spread of brain cancer.
Barreling up to number eight.
During hibernation, bears lose
20 to 30% of their synapses,
the connections between neurons in their brains.
Amazingly, their synapses repair themselves
after the bears wake up.
You’ll never see a bear come out of hibernation
disorientated and forgetting where its food sources are.
Humans start losing their synapses too,
but it's during the first stage of dementia.
By studying bears and mimicking mice's hibernation
conditions in labs, scientists have confirmed
the role of RBM3,
a protein that helps bears repair their synapses.
RBM3 is triggered in response to cold shock
when a hibernating animal's body temperature drops.
But humans don’t hibernate,
and sending us into cold shock is too dangerous.
So scientists have learned to activate the gene
that makes the RBM3 protein
by introducing a non-infectious virus
into patients with Alzheimer's disease.
Zebrafish live in the southeastern
Himalayan region
and have many genetic similarities
to humans.
In humans, obesity is a form of inflammation
and a tendency to store carbohydrates.
Humans have an unfortunate gene mutation
that makes us overreact
to a type of sialic acid
found in red meats.
We developed this mutation thousands of years ago
when hunter-gatherers had to adapt to low
and irregular food supplies.
Zebrafish have the same gene.
But it has not mutated because they never faced this
degree of food scarcity.
Studying these cellular pathways in zebrafish
can help us learn how to regulate blood sugar levels
in humans.
Maggots crawling on our open wounds
may not be such a terrible thing after all.
At least, not for people suffering from chronic wounds
that last a long time
and cause a lot of pain and discomfort.
As infectious bacteria continue to mutate
and become immune to antibiotics,
this old medical treatment is making a comeback.
Maggots eat dead tissue
and secrete protein digesting enzymes.
This dissolves infected and dead tissue,
speeding up the healing process.
Research shows that using disinfected maggots
to clean wounds before surgery
is completely safe.
It even reduces the chances of infection after surgery.
This nightmarish Australian spider’s venom
is known as the most complex chemical arsenal
in the world.
And scientists have found a harmless
protein in this venom
that can reduce brain damage
in rats up to eight hours
after they have had a stroke.
Human trials are underway.
A timely nasal spray containing this protein
could help first responders save stroke patients
and spinal injury victims
from cascading brain damage.
A viper’s venom disorients and immobilizes its prey
by lowering its blood pressure.
Then the reptile can easily swallow its prey whole.
Peptide hormones in the venom
constrict the prey's arteries
and make it absorb more sodium,
naturally raising its blood pressure.
When human patients have chronic hypertension,
these functions are in overdrive,
leading to serious heart conditions.
Scientists have identified several proteins
in Brazilian pit viper venom
that regulate peptide hormones
and can help lower human blood pressure.
The venom also prevents
unnecessary blood clotting,
which is extremely helpful for people
with cardiovascular problems.
Dogfish shark tissue contains squalamine,
which is being tested to control Parkinson’s Disease.
Parkinson’s is a debilitating disease
caused by the progressive
build up of toxic protein clusters in the brain
within cell structures called lipid vesicles.
People with Parkinson's Disease experience mobility
and balance issues,
tremors
and stiffness in their limbs.
Over time, the protein clusters block
all the cell’s functions.
Squalamine binds with the lipid vesicles
and blocks the build-up of this protein
among mice.
Scientists are hopeful that human trials
will be successful too.
This burrowing Eastern African rat
is not much of a looker.
But it lives up to seven times longer
than the average rodent
and is immune to cancer.
Its secret lies in hyaluronan
or HA, which all mammals have.
And naked mole rats have a lot of it.
Their HA molecules
are five times larger than the HA in humans,
and they're an extremely sensitive
signaling mechanism
that stops uncontrollable cell division,
a major feature of cancer.
HA signaling also
protects your DNA against mutations.
Since human HA is about 99% similar
to the naked mole rat's HA,
it gives scientists hope that the rats' HA
could cure cancer in humans
It's helping to solve the biggest health crisis
we’ve faced in a long time,
COVID-19.
All animals pass their acquired immunity
down to their offspring.
Mammals pass their antibodies to their fetuses
through their placentas,
and birds pass antibodies
through their bloodstreams
to their eggs.
The antibodies in bird eggs can be extracted,
distilled and safely administered to humans.
Scientists have managed to trigger
COVID-19 antibodies in ostriches
by injecting them with a dead,
non-infectious sample of the virus.
The ostrich antibodies recognize
the COVID-19 spike proteins
and neutralize them.
One large ostrich egg
makes about four hundred antibodies.
Scientists are working to make nasal sprays,
injections and skin patches
to deliver these antibodies to humans.
And that's not all.
Researchers have found that ostrich antibodies
block the Delta variant of COVID-19.
Boom. Ostrich mic drop.
Want to learn more? Check out our other video
about how ostrich antibodies stop the Delta variant.
Helping to cure diseases and injuries,
that's what these animals do.
And that's what makes them
Crazy Creatures.