Small Wonders: The Antibodies From Camels And Sharks That Could Change Medicine

Image caption: Camels, llamas, alpacas, sharks, rays and their relatives make unusual antibodies that researchers are investigating for studying — and fighting — human diseases. Image credit: Knowable Magazine. Article by Christina Szalinski, Knowable Magazine. Discover Magazine – February 22, 2023. This article originally appeared in Knowable Magazine.

Every four months, pathologist Aaron LeBeau scoops into a net one of the five nurse sharks he keeps in his University of Wisconsin lab. Then he carefully administers a shot to the animal, much like a pediatrician giving a kid a vaccine. The shot will immunize the shark against a human cancer, perhaps, or an infectious disease, such as Covid-19. A couple of weeks later, after the animal’s immune system has had time to react, LeBeau collects a small vial of shark blood. […]

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