The other butterfly effect

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Humans have come up with many ways to protect ourselves from infectious diseases.



“We used to think we were alone with this, but now we know we’re not. Now we know there’s a lot of animals out there that can do it, too,” says Emory biologist Jaap de Roode in a TEDYouth talk. TED is currently featuring de Roode's talk from last November on its national Web site.



In recent decades, scientists have learned that chimpanzees can use plants to treat their intestinal parasites along with elephants, sheep, goats and porcupines. “And even more interesting than that is recent discoveries are telling us that insects and other little animals with smaller brains can use medication, too,” says de Roode.



For the past 10 years, de Roode has studied monarch butterflies and how they get sick from parasites. He discovered that female monarch butterflies are able to use medicinal milkweed plants to reduce the harmful effects of the parasites on the butterfly’s offspring.



“This is an important discovery, I think, not just because it tells us something cool about nature, but also because it may tell us something more about how we should find drugs,” de Roode says. “Most of our drugs derive from natural products, often from plants. In indigenous cultures, traditional healers often look at animals to find new drugs. In this way, elephants have told people how to treat stomach upset and porcupines have told people how to treat bloody diarrhea. Maybe one day we will be treating people with drugs that were first discovered by butterflies. And I think that is an amazing opportunity worth pursuing.”



Related:

The monarch butterfly's medicine kit

What aphids can teach us about immunity

Tapping traditional remedies to fight modern super bugs



from eScienceCommons http://ift.tt/1DBzLEw

Click here if video does not appear on screen.



Humans have come up with many ways to protect ourselves from infectious diseases.



“We used to think we were alone with this, but now we know we’re not. Now we know there’s a lot of animals out there that can do it, too,” says Emory biologist Jaap de Roode in a TEDYouth talk. TED is currently featuring de Roode's talk from last November on its national Web site.



In recent decades, scientists have learned that chimpanzees can use plants to treat their intestinal parasites along with elephants, sheep, goats and porcupines. “And even more interesting than that is recent discoveries are telling us that insects and other little animals with smaller brains can use medication, too,” says de Roode.



For the past 10 years, de Roode has studied monarch butterflies and how they get sick from parasites. He discovered that female monarch butterflies are able to use medicinal milkweed plants to reduce the harmful effects of the parasites on the butterfly’s offspring.



“This is an important discovery, I think, not just because it tells us something cool about nature, but also because it may tell us something more about how we should find drugs,” de Roode says. “Most of our drugs derive from natural products, often from plants. In indigenous cultures, traditional healers often look at animals to find new drugs. In this way, elephants have told people how to treat stomach upset and porcupines have told people how to treat bloody diarrhea. Maybe one day we will be treating people with drugs that were first discovered by butterflies. And I think that is an amazing opportunity worth pursuing.”



Related:

The monarch butterfly's medicine kit

What aphids can teach us about immunity

Tapping traditional remedies to fight modern super bugs



from eScienceCommons http://ift.tt/1DBzLEw