Mar 23, 2015 | animal research, Conditions, Medical Research
It turns out that opossums are pretty effective at getting rid of ticks. Researchers found that opossums eat or remove up to 96% of the ticks that land on them, which is pretty impressive. And even better- opossums have immune systems that are really good at fighting off Lyme disease, so ticks are less likely […]
Mar 23, 2015 | animal research, Medical Research
Opossums are surprising us again! This time, researchers are looking to opossums to potentially create a better antidote for snakebite victims. Interested? Read on! Researchers found that opossums have a specialized protein in their systems that protects them from certain types of snake venom. The protein binds with snake venom and helps to neutralize it […]
May 11, 2014 | animal research, animals helping humans, Conditions, Medical Research, treatment
Laboratory opossums (Monodelphis domestica) are marsupials that are native to South America. Unlike North American opossums, which are the size of a full-grown cat, they’re only about six inches long. But for such a small size, they’ve made quite an impact in the field of biomedical research. They are excellent research models for a variety […]