Giant Panda Blood Contains Antibiotics
- Thread starter JonB
- Start date
Except these living creatures have antibiotics that we don't have. And humans have this really weird and insane desire to live for a long time without dying.blackrave said:
Would it be worth saving pandas for their body's ability to adjust the antibiotics to new threats? Meaning if we expose them to something we can't cure ourselves, maybe their bodies can come up with a solution? I know that sounds like lab testing on pandas, and it is, but I'm just curious.
Yeah sure scientist can synthesize the antibiotic but poachers cant.
Really I think it?s time that we simply let pandas go extinct you can?t fight natural selection in the end pandas simply can?t survive in a world with humans.
Well okay that?s not really how I feel but sometimes I wonder or we aren?t simply wasting a lot of money on something that?s simply supposed to die.
Really I think it?s time that we simply let pandas go extinct you can?t fight natural selection in the end pandas simply can?t survive in a world with humans.
Well okay that?s not really how I feel but sometimes I wonder or we aren?t simply wasting a lot of money on something that?s simply supposed to die.
Only a few weeks ago someone (I forget who) on Dara O'Briain's Science Club was talking about how you never know what rare and endangered animals might be able to do for humans. He even used a giant panda as an example about how, for all we knew, it could benefit our medical systems.
Huh.
I almost feel sad that we can synthesise the antibody - I thought this would be enough of a reason to want to save giant pandas besides the fact that they just look adorable.
Huh.
I almost feel sad that we can synthesise the antibody - I thought this would be enough of a reason to want to save giant pandas besides the fact that they just look adorable.
Frankly, I am usually amused at how absolutely awful science reporting is.
As has been already pointed out, many mammalian species produce these molecules, including H. sapiens. Discovering them in pandas is not surprising. Second, when posting science reporting, please link to the journal article [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378111911006652]. I think it took me thirty seconds to find it. And while you're at it, at least dig as far as the abstract. And if reporting for a major publication, maybe have them pay for the full scientific article past the pay wall.
The actual article only states that the protein has anti-microbial properties where it interferes with cell walls (incidentally the mechanism of action of many classes of antibiotics as well as quite a few of our innate defenses). That's it. That's what this class of molecule is for. If the reporters had dug as far as the end of the first paragraph of the abstract, they would have found out that this class of molecule is already known and sequenced across many species. It's so well known that the researchers were able to find out which species the panda's version most resembled - namely, dog. So nothing really special about the panda. Maybe there will be a slight advantage because the variations between species. Bacteria which infect humans already resist the human version of the protein, so a novel version of it might provide a challenge the bacteria haven't seen before. However, these kinds of carefully speculative statements are a far cry from the way reporters report findings.
As has been already pointed out, many mammalian species produce these molecules, including H. sapiens. Discovering them in pandas is not surprising. Second, when posting science reporting, please link to the journal article [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378111911006652]. I think it took me thirty seconds to find it. And while you're at it, at least dig as far as the abstract. And if reporting for a major publication, maybe have them pay for the full scientific article past the pay wall.
The actual article only states that the protein has anti-microbial properties where it interferes with cell walls (incidentally the mechanism of action of many classes of antibiotics as well as quite a few of our innate defenses). That's it. That's what this class of molecule is for. If the reporters had dug as far as the end of the first paragraph of the abstract, they would have found out that this class of molecule is already known and sequenced across many species. It's so well known that the researchers were able to find out which species the panda's version most resembled - namely, dog. So nothing really special about the panda. Maybe there will be a slight advantage because the variations between species. Bacteria which infect humans already resist the human version of the protein, so a novel version of it might provide a challenge the bacteria haven't seen before. However, these kinds of carefully speculative statements are a far cry from the way reporters report findings.