Cult of the Green Iguana

Robert Lewis and Jennifer Hodson

DRAGONS could hold the key to beating superbugs: Komodo Dragon blood found to have 'superantibacterial' properties

DRAGONS could hold the key to beating super bugs: Komodo blood found to have 'super antibacterial' properties

Komodo dragons have at least 57 types of bacteria in saliva, but appear resistant

Researchers incubated Komodo dragon blood, revealing antimicrobial activity

Discovery could help develop new drugs to fight antibiotic-resistant superbugs

By Cheyenne MacDonald

For Dailymail.com

Published: 22 February 2017 |

They’re the largest lizards in the world, with deadly saliva that’s loaded with at least 57 species of bacteria to bring down their prey.

And, according to new research, the blood of Komodo dragons could be the key to developing new drugs in the fight against antibiotic-resistant super-bugs.

The team used a method known as ‘bio-prospecting,’ revealing antimicrobial protein fragments in their blood that protects them against infections.

They’re the largest lizards in the world, with deadly saliva that’s loaded with at least 57 species of bacteria to bring down their prey. And, according to new research, the blood of Komodo dragons could be the key to developing new drugs to fight antibiotic-resistant super bugs

THE GROWING THREAT OF SUPER BUGS

Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change to 'outsmart' or resist antibiotic medicine, making it close to impossible to treat the infection.

The bacterium that carries resistance genes to many different antibiotics is called a superbug.

Most of these infections occur in hospitals or in medical care facilities, such as nursing homes.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that more than two million people are infected with antibiotic resistant bacteria every year.

More than 23,000 people die from these infections each year.

Experts say that if the epidemic is not brought under control, superbugs may kill more people than cancer by the year 2050.

In the study, researchers from the College of Science at George Mason University investigated whether they could isolate substances known as cationic antimicrobial peptides from Komodo dragon blood – massive lizards the dwell on five small islands in Indonesia.

These CAMP substances are an essential part of the innate immune system, and the team had previously done this with alligator blood.

In a technique called bioprospecting, they incubated the Komodo dragon blood with negatively charged hydrogel particles that they developed to capture the positively charged peptides.

This allowed the researchers to identify and sequence 48 potential CAMPS with mass spectrometry.

All of these, except for one, was derived from histone proteins.

NYC - AMNH - Hall of Reptiles and Amphibians - Komodo Dragon

These types of proteins are known to have antimicrobial activities.

The researchers then synthesized eight and tested them against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus.

The antibiotic resistant strain of S. Aureus (MRSA) is a growing problem worldwide.

The analysis revealed that seven of the peptides from the Komodo dragon blood were potent against both of the bacteria.

The eighth peptide was only effective against P. aeruginosa.

The researchers then synthesized eight and tested them against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. The antibiotic resistant strain of S. Aureus (MRSA) is a growing problem worldwide.

It’s thought that the bacteria in Komodo dragons’ saliva helps them to kill their prey.

But, the dragons themselves appear to be resistant.

According to the new research, serum derived from the animals may have antibacterial abilities as well.

This could pave the way for new therapeutics to treat antibiotic resistant bacteria.

The study demonstrates the power and promise of our bioprospecting approach to cationic antimicrobial peptide (CAMP) discovery and it reveals the presence of a plethora of novel histone-derived antimicrobial peptides in the plasma of the Komodo dragon,’ the authors wrote.

These findings may have broader implications regarding the role that intact histones and histone-derived peptides play in defending the host from infection.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4250298/Komodo-DRAGONS-hold-key-beating-superbugs.html#ixzz4ZUx5LSZE

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Robert Lewis and Jennifer Hodson

Maybe you’re not the biggest fan of snakes or maybe they even freak you out, but I’m here to tell you that they are actually pretty amazing creatures! My kids still think I’m a bit nutty about snakes, but after we spotted a garden snake in our flower bed last year, I decided it was time to add snakes to the science lesson for the day.

Believe it or not, despite being misunderstood, snakes have some great qualities, not to mention that they are a fascinating subject. I’m not suggesting that you should go out and hug one or become cavalier when on a nature hike. I just think it’s important to be educated on creatures we might encounter and how to approach them. When I decided to prepare a lesson for my kids, I came across a bunch of great resources. I am now sharing them with others, and I thought your readers might enjoy some of these topics. Could you find a home for them on your site?

Maybe here: http://cultofthegreeniguana.blogspot.com/2011_02_01_archive.html?

Snakes: They’re Actually Pretty Cool

The Guide to Snake Sightings in and Around Your Home: How to Safely Observe Serpents

Middle School Snake-Themed Lesson Plan: Ambush Warriors

Basic Facts About Snakes

Dealing With Snakes - Safely Handling Encounters

A Homeowner's Guide to Animal Control Problems: What to Do & Who to Call

I hope you find these resources interesting and educational. If you don’t, let me know, and I won’t send you any more emails. Thanks for your time!

Jenny Wise

Specialhomeeducator.com / information@specialhomeeducator.com

Anaheim, CA 92801

Robert Lewis and Jennifer Hodson · 4 years

This is a well-cared for lizard. MacGyver is the name. He is an Argentine Red Tegu.

MacGyver is owned by a person other than the owners of this blog. He is a very unique ppet and we are just spreading the word. All the pictures are from his various social media sites. Go visit the addresses below.

MacGyver the Lizard - On the internet, nobody knows you are a giant lizard

www.macgyverlizard.tumbler.com

macgyverlizard:

If you’ve recently got your first pet tegu, save yourself some hassle and watch this FAQ for new tegu keepers.

This question was just asked on /r/tegu and I thought tumbler reptile people might also find the answer useful:

We have a 5-6 month old red Paraguayan Tegu, Vada.
When in her enclosure, she is calm, inquisitive, doesn’t mind being handled a bit, etc. But when we let her roam the house, any movement toward her or around her spooks her. Even trying to slowly pick her up to put her back into her cage causes her to try to flee.
I’ve just started to try to spend an hour each day sitting in our bathtub with her so she gets used to me. I also throw in a worn shirt into her enclosure every so often.
Are there other techniques I ought to be doing? Would just letting her roam around, free of distractions and interruptions, be beneficial? What else can I try?

It’s normal for them to be extra scared and cautious of things moving around in a new environment. What you want to do with roaming is basically a larger scale version of how you get her used to you in her enclosure. When she’s in the enclosure, you start off by sitting next to the enclosure… move up to putting your hands in the enclosure but not near her… then move up to getting close to her but not touching her… then gently rubbing her head, etc…

The roaming version is basically the same, but with your whole body and not just your hand. First you want to get her used to your walking around, not towards her, on the other side of the room. Then you want to do some diagonal like paths that are not directly towards her, but where ur getting closer to her… etc. Then you want to get her used to things happening above her, like hands moving around, but not picking her up… etc..

Basically you want to try and get away with as much as possible, but without spooking her. Just keeping doing the most that u can get away with, and then the limits of where that is will change.

(Source: macgyverthelizard.com, via macgyverlizard)

tegu lizard taming macgyver the lizard