Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Forget Tiger's Blood...Panda Blood Could Be New Superdrug


Charlie Sheen may be convinced that Tiger Blood is the secret to "winning" in life, but a group of scientists in China believe that Panda blood may be far better!

It seems the blood of the way-too-cute to be real giant stuffed animals native to China have a powerful antibiotic component in their blood that can shoot down infection-causing bacteria in far less time than traditional antibiotic medications currently in use. In fact, in laboratory tests, the special ingredient in the Panda blood killed the often-deadly bacteria in only one hour, as opposed to six hours with current medications being used as a treatment.

The major problem is that the Giant Panda is one of the most endangered species on the planet: There are less than 1600 of the cuddly beasts in the wild. The animals are also not exactly known for their love of romance and are notoriously lousy at breeding to produce more offspring. Breeding programs in China have been successful at keeping the species alive and reproducing, but the scientists in charge of the research program have been able to decode the genetic sequence in the blood responsible for the bacteria-killing and are working on reproducing the agent in the lab. That way, we won't have to endure countless videos of the cutie-pie symbols of China being poked and prodded for their blood and making us feel guilty because our immune systems suck.

The scientists are hopeful they can isolate and reproduce the agent soon, providing the world with an alternative antiobiotic that will hopefully be a new-weapon against drug-resistant super-bug infections.  

 




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