Box Jellyfish Venom Discovery

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box-jellyfish-aNew research may have discovered a better treatment for casualties of the deadly box jellyfish. As the ABC report, the research has uncovered how the box jellyfish’s venom works so fast and is able to kill an adult in less then five minutes. The Hawaiian based researchers found that the box jelly fish venom contains a molecule called porin, which allows potassium to leech from red blood cells. This potassium than results in a higher plasma potassium concentration, which effectively stops the heart from beating.

As part of their findings, the researchers may have also found a new treatment for the life threatening stings. A treatment of zinc gluconate was found to prevent the release of potassium and was found to be effective in extending the life of envenomated mice.  The ABC report that these findings may allow for the development of more effective treatments in the future which may involve a combination of therapies. Read more

 

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