A research team at a top university in Thailand are investigating to see if blood from monitor lizard could be used to combat cancer and coronavirus.
The protected species have powerful immune systems, living in polluted waters and consuming decaying flesh, and scientists say they want to unlock their secrets.
Associate professor Jitkamol Thanasak, a lecturer at Mahidol University’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, is leading the team studying the characteristics of proteins that form part of the lizard’s immune defence.
They were granted permission from the government to collect blood samples from water monitors due to their protected species status.
Researchers found that the proteins inhibited the growth of cancer cells and some bacteria.
They speculate that this effect may also extend to suppressing viruses, including Covid - although this is not currently known.
The next step is to confirm that the blood constituents inhibit certain types of cancer cells and bacteria, but do not affect healthy cells in the human body.
They expect to complete their initial study on water monitors’ blood by the end of 2021, and then test whether it can also combat influenza, avian flu and Covid-19.
Professor Thanasak said his team only take a minimal amount of blood from the animals which are then released back into the wild.
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He has an ambitious vision of the benefits the creatures may bring humanity, saying monitor lizard blood offers “an alternative source of hope for mankind".
The professor obtained his doctorate in Bovine Management at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.
His previous research covered bovine medicine, milk production and monitor lizards.
Just last month a monitor lizard was caught on camera when it climbed the shelves of a supermarket in Nakhon Pathom in Thailand.
The massive reptile had climbed out of a nearby canal before crawling into the 7-eleven.
Staff and customers hid behind the counter while the animal climbed onto shelves and tossed several cartons of milk onto the ground.
A worried shop assistant called the police who arrived with reptile handlers to snare the lizard and return him to the wild.
