The lethal toxins produced by cone snails are in hot demand for neuroscience research, and are being developed as potent drugs. Laura Nelson visits a would-be snail 'farmer', for whom milking time is fraught with danger. Jon-Paul Bingham fumbles around for a condom. Big Bertha is waiting. There's an awkward pause. "It has to be the non-lubricated kind" he says. Bingham rips open the packet and slips the prophylactic over a small plastic test tube. Big Bertha is one of Bingham's nine tropical marine cone snails. These colourful creatures are some of the most venomous beasts on the planet. But the powerful poisons they produce can, in tiny doses, help to reveal how nerve cells function ― and potentially help to treat conditions from chronic pain to epilepsy.
展开▼
机译：锥蜗牛产生的致死毒素在神经科学研究中急需，并且正在被开发为强效药物。劳拉·纳尔逊（Laura Nelson）参观了一个可能的蜗牛“农场主”，因为挤奶时间充满了危险。乔恩·宾汉（Jon-Paul Bingham）四处寻找避孕套。大伯莎正在等待。有一个尴尬的暂停。他说：“必须是非润滑类型。” Bingham撕开包装，然后将预防剂套在小塑料试管上。 Big Bertha是Bingham的九种热带海洋锥蜗牛之一。这些五颜六色的生物是地球上最有毒的野兽。但是它们产生的强大毒药可以小剂量帮助揭示神经细胞的功能-并可能有助于治疗从慢性疼痛到癫痫病的疾病。
展开▼
