Just saw this on the BBC:
Could starfish inspire new cure for inflammation?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11931039Here are some interesting quotes:
"Inflammation is the body's natural response to an injury or infection, but inflammatory conditions are caused when the immune system begins to rage out of control."
"White blood cells, which normally flow easily through our blood vessels, begin to build up and stick to the blood vessel wall, and this can cause tissue damage."
"The idea is that a treatment based on starfish slime could effectively coat our blood vessels in the same way the goo covers the marine creature, and prevent this problem."
"The starfish is effectively providing us with something that is giving us different leads: it has had billions of years in evolution to come up with molecules that do specific things."
"Having identified promising compounds, the team is now working on creating their own versions of them in the laboratory. They want to create a treatment that is inspired by starfish goo rather than one that is made from it."
"It's not going to happen tomorrow afternoon, but we are learning all the time from nature about
how to find new medicines."