A painkiller as powerful as morphine, but without most of the side-effects, has been found in the deadly venom of the black mamba, say French scientists.
The predator, which uses neurotoxins to paralyse and kill small animals, is one of the fastest and most dangerous snakes in Africa. However, tests on mice, reported in the journal Nature, showed its venom also contained a potent painkiller.
They admit to being completely baffled about why the mamba would produce it. The researchers looked at venom from 50 species before they found the black mamba's pain-killing proteins - called mambalgins.
Dr Eric Lingueglia, from the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology near Nice, told the BBC: "When it was tested in mice, the analgesia was as strong as morphine, but you don't have most of the side-effects."
A deadly listeria outbreak connected to prepared pasta meals sold at grocery chains nationwide is worsening,...
One of the monkeys that escaped after a truck overturned on a Mississippi roadway on 28...
A civil jury in Maine has awarded $25m to a woman whose teenage daughter died from...
