This snail's sting beats hospital painkillers

Turns out that slowpoke mollusk makes a painkiller stronger than morphine

By Smartasaurus· 1 min read Curious

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The short version

Turns out that slowpoke mollusk makes a painkiller stronger than morphine
Humans use this lethal cocktail to treat chronic pain that resists everything else.
One species of cone snail even uses its venom to create a 'sensor' net, releasing chemicals into the water that sedate entire schools of fish simul…

The world’s most sophisticated chemical lab is a snail. The geographic cone snail produces a venom called ziconotide that is 1,000 times more powerful than morphine, yet it contains no opioids.

While a cobra uses one or two toxins, this snail packs a single harpoon with up to 100 different chemical compounds. When it strikes, it doesn’t just hurt the target; it sends it into 'excitatory shock,' instantly paralyzing the fish by overloading its nerves. Some compounds in the mix even mimic insulin, causing the prey's blood sugar to plummet so fast it faints before it can swim away.

Humans use this lethal cocktail to treat chronic pain that resists everything else. Doctors must pump a synthetic version of the venom directly into the patient's spinal fluid because it is too potent to enter the bloodstream normally. If it hits the wrong part of the body, the complex proteins can cause permanent confusion or hallucinations instead of relief.

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