Scientists have discovered that venom can prevent tumor growth and they want to design new treatments. In a new study, scientists tested the venom of bees, snakes, and scorpions, separated them into proteins and peptides, and tested whether they could be used to stop tumor growth without harming the patient.
Researchers say that pure bee venom enters the bloodstream and is highly lethal, but some venoms are helpful in treating certain types of cancer. In fact, scientists have discovered that certain substances in the venom called melittin can prevent the spread of malignant cells. But apparently the bees don't have so many venoms for scientists to use, so the researchers used synthetic melittin for testing in the lab.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign stated at the American Chemical Society conference that "in the laboratory, we have safely used nanoparticles of melittin for the treatment of breast and melanoma cells. These particles passed Camouflage, successfully deceived the immune system, so that the toxins act directly on the cancer cells, while not harming the normal tissue." Next, they will conduct animal experiments, they hope this will help people to get rid of the threat of cancer.