Scorpion Sting and Medical Possibilities
Have you seen a scorpion before? That animal look like it is built to fight all time with something to attack at the front and back and anytime I see them, I am scared of being stung by them because they deliver a very strong amount of energy through their body when they sting.
Scorpions have been since over 450 million years ago before the evolution of trees and there were no animals on earth but these creatures existed in water, terrorizing anything they found. This ranged back to their ancestors Eurypterids (Sea Scorpions) who were very big. Over time they moved out of water becoming amphibious but still lived in the ocean as part of heir lives. Over the years, evolution has made scorpions smaller than how they were 450 years ago. Although small, they haven't changed much at all. In fact, they still breath with Book Lungs which was what they used when they lived in water similar to gills just that this time the book lungs have moved inside their body.
You would assume that this animal shouldn't exist since they have been living for a very long time but they have escaped several extinction events including one that happened 443 years ago which wiped out almost 85% of all life on earth. They have also escaped the ice ages, and the Asteroid that killed the Dinosaurs, so you must say that they survivors. This arachnid now has over 2700 different species and can exist in any part of the world that doesn't have ice all day long.
You might be surprise to see that scorpions move basically in the dark especially where there is no moon for the purpose of protecting themselves, and this can be attributed to them having a florescence exoskeleton that glow under UV light. Out of the 2700 species of scorpions only a handful of them can kill humans. Talking about this, Scorpion sting contains neurotoxins that make your brain feels like you need to do something even when it is not really a big deal.
These are neurotoxins in its vemon which is composed of about 250 components which is possible to drive a person or any other type of animal into some emergency defense mechanism, and scorpion does this to defend itself from mammal predators but its toxins are quick to paralyze insets which are its major prey.
Scorpions have duplicate genetic material helping them to survive evolution disaster and keep their venom no matter what happens with evolution. Scientist have been looking at how scorpion venom is able to hijack the nervous system causing extreme pain, so as to be able to study and understand pain so they can be able to relieve pain. Some researcher are working on a scorpion toxin to treat a type of brain cancer. Scientist are using chlorotoxin from the deathstalker scorpion which is harmless to humans but binds to a type of cancerous brain cell, leaving regular brain cell alone.
Scientists were able to add dye to the venom to identify the cancer cells in the brain which helped them to identify the cancer cells before they begin incision and operation or in the cases of using micro-surgical equipment to pull out the cancer cells. Scorpions are remarkable survivors with a fascinating evolutionary history. Their unique adaptations and potent venom continue to intrigue scientists, offering potential breakthroughs in medicine.
Reference
https://earthsky.org/earth/giant-sea-scorpion
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-53590-8
https://scorpion.amnh.org/page3/page3.html
https://www.nfcr.org/blog/scorpion-venom-the-newest-treatment-for-a-deadly-cancer/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32679017/
https://www.cityofhope.org/breakthroughs/scorpion
https://www.msdmanuals.com/professional/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7277529/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6330186/
If it is crawling, and has shining exoskeleton, it is not my thing. I am completely scared of crawling insects and arthropods. Scorpion is a big no for me and I am surprise that they have stayed that long on earth, even before humans.
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