Uses for Poisonous Arthropods


There are many poisonous arthropods, such as spiders, the Emperor Scorpion (pictured), as well as other scorpion species, and certain insects. Each of these uses venom in some way; to capture prey, or to escape from danger. Scorpions use their venom for both purposes, but their venom is interesting; it isn’t just one kind of toxin or poison; its a whole cocktail of enzymes, enzyme inhibitors, toxins, and poisons, all mixed together. This enables scorpions to tackle nearly any kind of prey. But, of more interest to human beings, is the fact that some of these toxins and enzyme inhibitors are showing promising signs for use in medicine and other uses. For instance, one scorpion bears a toxin in its venom that specifically targets tumors and cancers. Injecting some of this toxin into a cancer victim would eliminate the cancer but leave the victim unharmed. Certain enzymes in various scorpion venom target specific substances that are not found in humans. These enzymes could be used as disinfectants to kill bacteria that contain this substance but leave the humans using the enzyme untouched. These, other discoveries and potentially future discoveries, made possible by recent tech gear and equipment, sitting just under our noses for thousands of years, could change the world as we know it forever.


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