Crocodile blood may yield powerful new drugs
By Michael Perry
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Scientists in Australia's tropical north are collecting blood from crocodiles in the hope of developing a powerful antimicrobial drugs for humans, after tests showed that the reptile's immune system kills HIV.
The crocodile's immune system is much more powerful than that of humans, preventing life-threatening infections after savage territorial fights that often leave the animals with gaping wounds and missing limbs.
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"If you take a test tube of HIV and add crocodile serum it will have a greater effect than human serum," Britton said from Darwin's Crocodylus Park, a tourism park and research center.