Super-glue made from the poison of the most dangerous snake living in South America stops bleeding. The poison of Bothrops atrox is deadly. Newly, this dangerous toxin has become the basis for an adhesive to stop bleeding, which could save lives.
Poisonous Reptile
The snake Bothrops atrox, related to rattlesnakes, is one of the most dangerous venomous snakes in South America. This snake is abundant in rainforests, and also inhabits savannas or plantations, where it is often encountered by humans.
The poisonous reptile is probably responsible for the deadliest snake attacks in America. Its bites are frightening and almost always fatal without immediate medical help. The snake has a hemotoxic venom that breaks down the blood. When a victim survives a bite, he often loses the affected part of the body, which literally falls apart.
Anti-bleeding Adhesive
However, as is usual in similar cases, poison with dramatic effects can be ingeniously used in medicine, where it does not kill but, on the contrary, saves human lives. An international team of scientists used one of the important components of the velvet scrub venom, the toxic enzyme batroxobin, also known as reptilase, and developed a new anti-bleeding super-adhesive.
Batroxobin has been sought after by experts for several years. Some time ago, it appeared in liquid “bandages” that can be injected. It has now become part of an adhesive that is able to stop bleeding from injury or surgery within seconds of light activation.
Researchers believe that this adhesive could also become part of first aid kits. If necessary, it would then be sufficient to squeeze the adhesive out of the tube and illuminate it with visible light, such as a laser pointer or smartphone.
Source:
https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/29/eabf9635
news.westernu.ca/2021/07/snake-venom-super-glue/
featured image: screenshot – youtube.com/watch?v=rEvGdvc5XOE
