"(Earthworms) make soil more water resistant through their excretion of mucus-rich casts," Byzov said. "Consuming soil, they make big channels and burrows, which are then easily occupied by plant roots and small animals." As these experiments were taking place, Beijing's China Agricultural University scientist Sun Zhenjun and his colleagues were making worm discoveries of their own. Zhenjun knew that, for centuries, traditional Chinese medicine practitioners had included worms in their preparations. He describes the insect treatments as "cold" and "slightly salty," with purported claims of treating everything from herpes to cancer. The Beijing team introduced cancerous cells, obtained from China-Japan Friendship Hospital, to worm tissues and fluids. They saw "significant" change, with many of the cancer cells dying. Zhenjun told Discovery News that he and his colleagues then "accidentally" found that worm compounds, specifically some complex carbohydrates and protein components, "have antibacterial functions." Like Byzov, he had his team mix all kinds of human-infecting bacteria, such as E. coli, staph, pneumonia and candida with the worm compounds. The worm goo easily killed each one off, including an extremely harmful bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is naturally resistant to penicillin and most other antibiotics. Zhenjun and his colleagues are now trying to isolate the most powerful anti-cancer and antibacterial agents in worms, so that these might be synthesized for human use in future. The findings from both teams have been accepted for publication in the European Journal of Soil Biology. Related Links: Jennifer Viegas' blog: Born Animal |
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