The Creepy Crawlies: Centipede Venom May Be More Powerful Than Morphine

Scientists at the University of Utah have discovered that the venom of centipedes may actually be a more powerful painkiller than morphine, a new study has concluded.

The venom from the Chinese red-headed centipede apparently contains a compound that blocks pain receivers in the body, and would work better than the standard morphine currently being used for sufferers of acute, chronic pain.

Experiments conducted on mice in a laboratory have shown that the centipede venom is highly effective in stopping pain and in some instances can actually work better, but without the terrible side effects of morphine.  Another positive is that mice given the venom did not develop an addiction to the drug because it does not block the same receptors that morphine does.

The drug will have to go through a battery of more tests to prove how safe it is and pass muster with the FDA before being introduced to the US market.

This kind of gives a new twist to that creepily awful movie The Human Centipede...

Like a Plague of Locusts: Incredible Radar Images Show Millions of Birds & Bugs Taking Flight During Oklahoma Earthquake

Photo Credits: NOAA/The Daily Mail

Incredible radar images show the exact moment Saturday's 5.6 earthquake struck central Oklahoma, causing literally millions of insects and birds to take flight!

The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration released the shocking radar images today, which highlight the changing air patterns at the precise moment the temblor struck in the late-evening hours on Saturday. The wing movement of vast amounts of insects and birds was immediately picked up by local Doppler Radar, which is often used to detect wind rotation or tornadoes embedded in thunderstorms. 


The radar image in the moments before the earthquake was calm and still, but as soon as the earth started to pitch and shake, a shift caused by a simultaneous movement of birds and insects flying  in low altitude was detected. The earthquake was the strongest in history to strike Oklahoma, and caused buildings to crumble and stretches of highway to buckle from its force. 


Scientists are studying the data to see if the creatures took flight slightly before or after the shaking began. Experts have long thought that animals can detect movements in tectonic plates before a quake strikes, exhibiting odd or unnatural behavior in the moments leading up to an earthquake.