Our stories today discuss how bee venom can potentially help fight cancer, the history of manatees, and recent discoveries in how monkeys use tools.
Our stories today discuss how bee venom can potentially help fight cancer, the history of manatees, and recent discoveries in how monkeys use tools.
Bee Venom Kills Cancer
Giant Manatees
Monkey Masturbation
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Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/bee-venom-kills-cancer-giant-manatees-monkey-masturbation
[SFX: INTRO MUSIC/WHOOSH]
NATE: Hi! You’re about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from Discovery. Time flies when you’re learnin’ super cool stuff. I’m Nate.
CALLI: And I’m Calli. If you’re dropping in for the first time, welcome to Curiosity, where we aim to blow your mind by helping you to grow your mind. If you’re a loyal listener, welcome back!
NATE: Today, we are gonna learn about how bee venom can potentially help fight cancer, the history of manatees, and how monkeys are using tools in some… interesting ways.
CALLI: Without further ado, let’s satisfy some curiosity!
[SFX: WHOOSH]
NATE: Calli, no one likes a bee sting, but what if instead of causing pain… it could be a cure?
CALLI: A cure for what?
NATE: Cancer! Researchers have found that the venom from some honey bees is capable of attacking hard to treat cancer cells, without harming healthy cells. There is still a lot of research to do, but this could soon be a widely available, and affordable, treatment for cancer patients that haven’t had many options.
CALLI: Will just any honey bee do?
NATE: Well, they looked at venom from 312 Australian, Irish, and English honeybees, but ended up working specifically with European Honey bees. They looked at how their venom affected cells from normal breast tissue as well as various subtypes of breast cancer, including triple negative breast cancer, which you might remember we talked about for a recent episode, because it’s really hard to treat.
CALLI: What is it in the venom that makes it good for potentially fighting cancer?
NATE: It’s a substance called melittin that’s a big part of the venom. Researchers have also created a synthetic version to see if it would have a similar effect.
CALLI: So what happened when they exposed it to cancer cells?
NATE: The melittin was incredibly effective. Researchers say it significantly, selectively, and rapidly targeted the cancer cells. It killed many of those cells in under an hour by creating holes in their outer membrane. Importantly though, it also stopped the cancer cells’ ability to grow and divide within just twenty minutes!
CALLI: That’s incredible! How did it stop reproduction?
NATE: So, many of these cancers are really hard to treat because they have a ton of these receptors on the cell membranes that fuel their reproduction and help them grow. This treatment prevented those receptors from activating which stopped the growth. It’s interesting because what made these cancers so hard to treat became their big weakness when exposed to melittin!
CALLI: That is so neat. Wait, did you say they could punch holes in cell membranes too?
NATE: Yes! With the right dosage, they can induce 100% cell death for cancer cells with minimal effects on healthy cells! What also gets researchers excited is that since they poke holes in cell membranes, if you team up the melittin with existing chemotherapies, you can deliver the drugs into the cells way more effectively. This means you can use lower doses that cost less and have fewer side effects! They also found that the synthetic version of melittin had many of the same effects.
CALLI: That’s so cool, are we learning how to recreate these kinds of targeted attacks?
NATE: What is kind of crazy is researchers say we still aren't really sure what the molecular basis is for the venom attacking cancer so specifically.
CALLI: So there is still a lot we can learn from natural sources, too cool! When will we start to see it in use?
NATE: Well, there’s a lot of work to be done. Things like optimal dosages, what toxicities exist, and what the best way is to deliver the substance to cancers still need to be studied. Researchers also want to look into other types of bee venom to see if another type might be even more potent. But if we can figure it out, it could mean an affordable and readily available method to fight hard to treat cancers all over the world!
[SFX: WHOOSH]
CALLI: Nate, if I asked you to tell me what you think the closest relatives are to modern elephants, what would you say?
NATE: Hmmm, probably… rhinos? Or maybe something with a long nose like an anteater?
CALLI: Great guesses but those are both wrong. Today we are talking all about a species that you wouldn’t think has so much in common with elephants. They are big, cute, lazy mammals… the manatee!
NATE: Wow, you’re totally right, I would never have guessed that! Though now that I think about it they do kinda look alike. I love those big goofy-looking guys.
CALLI: Me too! Manatees are a delicate part of our ecosystem and are extremely vulnerable to extinction. In an effort to understand the species, educate the public, and, hopefully, protect the manatee, a recent study went through exhaustive work to track the history of these creatures on Earth. And their history is super impressive which stresses the need to support conservation efforts while we still can!
NATE: Tell me about it! How long have they been around for?
CALLI: The slow moving aquatic herbivores have been around millions and millions of years, our oldest known fossil is 47 million years old! And they've lived off of the coast of every continent except Antarctica. They first appeared, though, off the coast of Northern Africa in what would become the Mediterranean Sea, in an area where we often find fossils from the origin species of their closest living relatives… the elephant.
NATE: Ahh yes, and it all comes together.
CALLI: Elephants and manatee diverged about 58 million years ago, shortly after many of the dinosaurs died off. And though they might not look a ton alike now, ancient manatees actually had four limbs and could walk on land. Obviously, modern manatees only have two front limbs and their fluke, which is like a single big rear flipper.
NATE: So… how did they evolve to live in the ocean?
CALLI: That’s what researchers wanted to know, so they gathered the largest data set of fossils and living species to compare all the info. They combined things like genetics, anatomy, and geography to track the history of the manatee.
NATE: Oof, you’re right that sounds like a ton of information. What did all that tell them?
CALLI: Basically, 34 million years ago, the common ancestors of our modern manatees crossed the Atlantic during some pretty dire times. The sea levels were falling and the planet was cooling so a lot of species were dying off. The manatees that stayed in the Mediterranean also died off due to the harsh conditions.
NATE: So all living manatees are descended from the ones that came to the Americas?
CALLI: Yes! It’s likely that today’s manatees’ ancestors went to South America where they evolved in freshwater wetlands before they moved north to live near places like Florida.
NATE: So how long ago was that?
CALLI: Relatively recently! Well… still a few million years ago but in the bigger picture that’s not too long. What’s also interesting is that some species that left South America headed for the Pacific Ocean, up to the Alaskan Coast. It’s called the Stellar’s Sea Cow. And this thing was MASSIVE. Think 33 feet long and up to 12 tons!
NATE: Ah, I wish humans had been around to see that!
CALLI: Unfortunately, we were. These glorious creatures could be seen up until the 1700’s, when we hunted them to extinction.
NATE: Oh that’s terrible and unsurprising.
CALLI: For sure. That’s why it’s so important that we protect the manatees that we still have. Especially since they’re in such danger. Once they’re gone…they’re gone. This study is a crucial reminder that these creatures have lived through too many years, and too many near extinctions, to let us kill them off. We need to protect them for future generations!
[SFX: WHOOSH]
NATE: Calli, don’t you love when we find animals using tools? Like crows using twigs to get larvae out of logs, or sea otters using rocks to smash open snails?
CALLI: Yes! It’s so cool, it always reminds me that animals are smarter than we might assume!
NATE: Totally, well researchers just found a new example in the wild, but it's not quite as friendly for work, or children, as crows getting a snack….
CALLI: So…what is it?
NATE: Researchers found a group of monkeys in the wild who use rocks for sexual pleasure. This racy discovery might help researchers learn how creatures in the animal kingdom develop tool usage.
CALLI: I have so many questions, but let's just first start with, what monkeys were these? You said they were in the wild?
NATE: Yes, researchers observed 173 free ranging macaques near the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Ubud, a Balinese town in Indonesia.
CALLI: Ok…so what exactly were they doing with the rocks?
NATE: They were rubbing or tapping stones around their genitals, and showing signs of physiological arousal. It's the first report of tool-assisted masturbation in wild animals. While rocks might not seem like the best…tool… for that, researchers say they didn’t show any signs of pain, though they can’t rule out that pain and pleasure might have been working together for the arousal.
CALLI: So, why exactly did they start studying this?
NATE: Well researchers had observed these monkeys just playing with stones with no real purpose, they’d bang them together to make noise, or just pick them up and drop them over and over again. Then they started to notice the macaques using the rocks to…play with themselves. This led to the “sex-toy hypothesis,” that the stones were being used for pleasure too. So, they started watching more than 170 monkeys to confirm their theory.
CALLI: Did all the monkeys take part in the use of stones for this?
NATE: Young males were most likely to do it, especially in sexually charged situations like trying to attract a mate or when they were aroused. Adult males don’t do it as much and the use of the stones was pretty mixed among the other groups.
CALLI: And that was enough to prove the sex-toy hypothesis?
NATE: Yes, there was definitely something sexual going on, and the stones were certainly helping. But even more importantly researchers say this can help us understand how wild animals gain the use of tools.
CALLI: How does watching a monkey….well anyway, what did they learn?
NATE: Since the monkeys were first seen just playing with the rocks before they figured out any other uses, researchers think that tool use might develop from simple entertainment! I should also note that these monkeys regularly receive food from passing humans.
CALLI: Does that limit the study at all, like are they really wild animals?
NATE: There are some real limitations to the study. Like I mentioned, these monkeys were regularly getting food, which means they would have more time to…play, than other monkey populations. On top of that, researchers do point out that this is just one population of monkeys.
CALLI: Still, no matter what they were using it for, finding a species using a new tool in the wild is pretty freaking cool.
NATE: You’re right about that!
[SFX: WHOOSH]
NATE: Let’s recap what we learned today to wrap up. Researchers have found a new and surprising tool to fight hard to treat cancers: bee venom. While we aren't exactly sure why it is so effective at singling out cancer cells, its specificity and ability to kill cancer cells could bring hope to treating hard to cure cancers!
CALLI: Though funny looking creatures today, manatees have a long, world-crossing history. While only four species remain today, at one point they crossed the world, some growing to be as large as 33 feet long!
NATE: A group of monkeys in the wild have been found rubbing rocks on their genitals and are the first report of tool-assisted masturbation seen in wild animals!