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Tarantula Venom Could Lead to New Effective Painkillers
Sci-News.com ^ | Feb 17, 2014 | NA

Posted on 04/27/2014 8:10:28 PM PDT by neverdem

Using an innovative screening method, a team of scientists from Australia and the United States has discovered a peptide in the venom of the Peruvian green velvet tarantula (Thrixopelma pruriens) that blunts activity in pain-transmitting neurons.

Tarantula. Image credit: Michael Gäbler / CC BY 3.0.

Tarantula. Image credit: Michael Gäbler / CC BY 3.0.

The novel method, named toxineering, has the potential to search millions of different spider toxins for safe pain-killing drugs and therapies.

Dr Michael Nitabach from Yale School of Medicine and his colleagues screened toxins from a variety of tarantula species to find one that blocked TRPA1, an ion channel on the surface of pain-sensing neurons that is implicated in inflammation and neuropathic pain.

By generating a small library of mutated versions of the tarantula toxin, they identified Protoxin-I – a 35-residue peptide from the venom of the Peruvian green-velvet tarantula – that blocks TRPA1 but has no effect on activity of other channels on the surface of neurons.

“The beauty of the system is we can also screen engineered toxins not found in nature, and identify higher-potency and more specific molecular variants that lack deleterious effects on essential nerve functions,” said Dr Nitabach, who is the lead author of a paper published in the journal Current Biology...

(Excerpt) Read more at sci-news.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: tarantulavenom; toxineering; trpa1; venom
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To: Salamander

Shoulda been the other way around. At least GZ looks like a human. Ever have a good look at Lars?

Aliens are real. I am sure of it....


61 posted on 04/27/2014 10:06:19 PM PDT by Norm Lenhart (How's that 'lesser evil' workin' out for ya?)
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To: Norm Lenhart

Whiny ass Ulrich.

Never forgive him for all the Napster garbage.

Oh, what?

He could only afford 3 Jacuzzis instead of 4?


62 posted on 04/27/2014 10:11:42 PM PDT by Salamander (Minstrel In The Gallery)
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To: Salamander
I’m a girl and I think that’s hot as jalapenos.

Shame, shame LOL!

I hadn't listened to them in many moons, really like their sound.

Putting Salma Hayek in a couple of their vids wasn't a bad move either :)

63 posted on 04/27/2014 10:12:52 PM PDT by The Cajun (tea party!!!, Sarah Palin, Mark Levin, Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, Louie Gohmert......Nuff said.)
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To: Salamander

If that moron would have handled it like a businessman instead of the way he did, the music industry would be in FAR better shape today.

Instead, it’s a disaster and it traces back to his ability to think.


64 posted on 04/27/2014 10:18:21 PM PDT by Norm Lenhart (How's that 'lesser evil' workin' out for ya?)
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To: The Cajun

She is beautiful.

Too bad some women can’t just admit stuff like that and let it be.

Love Tito.

When he does tour, it’s never around here.

Dammit.


65 posted on 04/27/2014 10:25:39 PM PDT by Salamander (Minstrel In The Gallery)
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To: Norm Lenhart

Yup.

And the world went on to download everything anyway.

Pyrrhic victory, at best.


66 posted on 04/27/2014 10:26:49 PM PDT by Salamander (Minstrel In The Gallery)
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To: Salamander

On one of the music production boards I’m on it is more mindless than DU...well most musicians are libs anyway so no shock...

the global predominant attitude by people MAKING the music that is being Pirated is...are you ready?

“So what? if I can get it, I’ll get it. why should I pay for it.”

This is ALWAYS followed several posts later by the same people complaining that the world doesn’t value music and it sucks that they are losing their arses because no one buys it.

I sewarr to God it’s true.


67 posted on 04/27/2014 10:30:41 PM PDT by Norm Lenhart (How's that 'lesser evil' workin' out for ya?)
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To: Norm Lenhart

I have a lot of CDs.
Some of them, I listened to ‘free’ online first and then bought the CD.

If I had *not* listened, I would not have bought.

Common sense says give people a sample and they will buy if it’s good.

I haven’t bought near as many CDs since YouTube got so jerky about pulling videos.

I’m not rich and can’t keep buying musical pigs in pokes.

At least Amazon still provides 30 second samples of songs.


68 posted on 04/27/2014 10:37:13 PM PDT by Salamander (Minstrel In The Gallery)
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To: Salamander

Thats exactly where business sense comes in. Had they adopted that model and gotten people used to it out of the gate, the piracy would have been minimized.

I do like you do. check it out online and buy it if it’s good. Then again we have some principles. Well I do at least. Yoy listen to that creepy psuedo tranny in Fishnets ;)


69 posted on 04/27/2014 10:46:01 PM PDT by Norm Lenhart (How's that 'lesser evil' workin' out for ya?)
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To: Norm Lenhart

:-P


70 posted on 04/27/2014 10:47:02 PM PDT by Salamander (Minstrel In The Gallery)
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To: Salamander

Well “I” don’t wear fishnets like a woman...I just scream like a schoolgirl around tarantulas in a VERY manly fashion.

There’s a difference ;)


71 posted on 04/27/2014 10:48:38 PM PDT by Norm Lenhart (How's that 'lesser evil' workin' out for ya?)
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To: neverdem
When my husband and I were stationed at NAS Fallon, Nevada, we rented a home for while, outside of town, next friends who had horses. We put our name in for base houses, but had to wait. I was 8 months pregnant and in the nesting stage, so naturally I moved my refrigerator to clean under it and out ran a tarantula bigger than the span of my hand. I ran barefoot in the hot desert sand to my friends house. We fortunately got housing before the baby came. Nevada is beautiful, but the black widows (always Check your shoes before putting them on) scorpions ( my husband was stung by one on the target range) and tarantulas can make s brave man run like a girl.
72 posted on 04/28/2014 6:11:27 AM PDT by Linda Frances (Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness.)
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To: All
The pictured tarantula looks just like the variety we had in Haiti. They would grow bigger than the size of an outstretched hand and had a vertical leap of 3-4 feet.

What amused me the most was the male MK's (missionary kids) capturing them as pets. Thank God we had a daughter!

73 posted on 04/28/2014 8:19:14 AM PDT by Prov1322 (Enjoy my wife's incredible artwork at www.watercolorARTwork.com! (This space no longer for rent))
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To: neverdem
I remember reading a couple years ago that cobra venom could relieve pain. I haven't heard anything else about it since then.
74 posted on 05/01/2014 4:22:58 AM PDT by muggs (Hope and Change = Hoax and Chains)
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To: losinmyreligion

Ahmmm.... botox is a beauty enhancing age destroying serum. women are positively captivated by the use of hydrating serums to reverse aging. They even buy hydrating razors to shave their legs

75 posted on 05/01/2014 4:35:04 AM PDT by bert ((K.E. N.P. N.C. +12 ..... History is a process, not an event)
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