Saturday, February 05, 2005
Bat spit
It turns out that if you extract a molecule created by vampire bats in their saliva, spin it into a drug, and inject it in people who have had a stroke, it busts the clot.
It stands to reason, if you think about it, that vampire bats deliver a powerful anti-coagulant to the point of their bite. I mean, they can't really suck your blood if it congeals into a clotty wad. Then it would be chewing your blood, or even gnawing your blood, which would be gross.
The results of a small study suggest that desmoteplase, an investigational clot-busting drug derived from vampire bat saliva, safely restores blood supply to the brain when administered up to 9 hours after a stroke occurs.
It stands to reason, if you think about it, that vampire bats deliver a powerful anti-coagulant to the point of their bite. I mean, they can't really suck your blood if it congeals into a clotty wad. Then it would be chewing your blood, or even gnawing your blood, which would be gross.
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