Radioactive scorpion venom for health

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

While it may conjure up images of Spiderman for some, researchers have actually entered clinical trials in a drug to treat brain cancer with a particularly odd chemical: radioactive scorpion venom.

 

The drug is an artificial version of the venomous protein attached to radioactive iodine. The compound attaches to the cancer cells and the iodine promptly irradiates them, killing the cells with minimal damage to the surrounding area. The treatment has already increased patient survival rates and helped treat tumors, and many hope it will pass clinical trials and become one of the many cancer-fighting drugs in the medical arsenal.

 

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-06/hps-rsv062706.php