Venom “Milking” Scorpion Robot
August 22, 2017 | Terry Sharrer
Milking scorpions for their venom may be one job lab technicians are happy to give up to robots. And such a robot now exists based on development at Ben M’sik Hassan II University in Casablanca, Morocco. According to this piece: “Current scorpion-milking methods are either dangerous (electrical stimulation by hand), unreliable (mechanical stimulation) or harmful to the animal (puncturing of venom gland / abdominal removal). This robot milks the scorpions by clamping the tail and electrically stimulating the animal to express droplets of venom, which is then captured and safely stored.” Scorpion venom is used in immunosuppressants, anti-malarial drugs, and in neurological and cancer research. MORE
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