While scrolling through my nonprofit's Twitter feed, looking for news stories that relate to my internship organization, I found an article that immediately made my blood run cold. As in, blood being reptile cold.
By Skeetdeloach at en.wikipedia [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons
George Mason University has been conducting a study with the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park to determine if there is something in an alligator's blood that makes the reptile immune to bacteria. The article written by News 13 reported scientist found a bacteria-fighting peptide in alligator blood that help them live in very inhabitable environments while maintaining strong immune systems. This government-funded study is hoping to use these peptides to create medicine that could be used on the battlefield.
Here is where I enter the storyline. To a certain extent, I can sort of understand cross-species organ transplantations. In those cases your getting an organ from another mammal, but receiving reptile blood after being injured in combat? This is where I get extremely iffy. I'm sure there are still many more years of laboratory testing ahead for this new discovery before field testing would start. However, this is one veteran that will not be lining up to get her alligator blood transfusion.
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