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Conservationists have long been working to prevent pandas from going extinct. And their efforts might now have a renewed focus as researchers from the Life Sciences College of Nanjing Agricultural University have discovered an antibody in panda blood that’s extremely effective at killing fungus and bacteria.
Known as cathelicin-AM, the compound is capable of quickly killing strains of microbes and fungi, even those that have become drug-resistant over the years. So it could turn out to be an effective weapon for battling superbugs that can’t be eradicated through traditional treatments.
And while the compound is another reason to continue panda preservation efforts, the researchers have actually already created a synthetic version by decoding the animal’s genes. So the 1,600 or so pandas remaining on our planet won’t have to spend their lives donating blood and gorging on free cookies afterwards. [MedicalDaily via Slashdot]
Image by Lee Yiu Tung/Shutterstock
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Well lets invade their habitat and reduce their numbers to near extinction, oh wait…
With a dependence on a single food source and complete lack of interest in reproduction the panda was doing a pretty good job on its own.
Panda farms, here we come!
They never metioned that last time I donated blood. I didn’t get a free cookie either, all they had left were rich tea biscuits.
This was a copy/paste from Gizmodo US, the land where biscuit = cookie.
Irrelevant, they are different.
In America, biscuit = scone.
Cookie = biscuit
Cookie ≠ biscuit
First, the compound that has been discovered is not an antibody, it’s a peptide, i.e. a short protein fragment.
Second, it’s called cathelicidin-AM not cathelicin-AM.
Third, cathelicidins are not new, e.g. versions made by cows and humans have been studied for over a decade. The panda version is 75% identical in sequence to the dog version and has similar potency to previously reported cathelicidins.
Apart from that, this article is spot on…
Apart from the actual name, type and sensationalism they got it right? Sounds like standard journalistic procedure.
Sigh… …and they say people don’t get irony these days
Well we all know the blood from a hybrid Cylon fetus has healing properties for humans, including the cure for cancer…