View Single Post
Old 03-07-2008, 02:14 PM   #5
Coign
Wanted Driver
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Vail, CO
Posts: 279
You know, I don't really want to eat that thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon

Quote:
In addition to the venom, dragons also possess virulent bacteria in their saliva, of which more than 28 Gram-negative and 29 Gram-positive strains have been isolated. These bacteria cause septicemia in their victim; if an initial bite does not kill the prey animal and it escapes, it will commonly succumb within a week to the resulting infection. The deadliest bacteria in Komodo dragon saliva appears to be a very deadly strain of Pasteurella multocida, from studies performed with lab mice. Because the Komodo dragon appears immune to its own microbes, much research has been done searching for the antibacterial molecule in the hopes of human medicinal use.
__________________
Quoting yourself is the height of hubris. -Coign
Coign is offline   Reply With Quote