The Change Mariner

Shellfish Linked To Medicine Breakthrough

Ananova (UK):

Scientists say poisonous shellfish that live on coral reefs could provide a cornucopia of new medicines.

Yet just as scientists are beginning to discover the potential of cone snails, they are coming under threat.

Dr Eric Chivian, from Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, US, is appealing for action to protect the brightly coloured creatures, which are coveted by shell collectors.

He said: "Tropical cone snails may contain the largest and most clinically important pharmacopoeia of any genus in nature, but wild populations are being decimated by habitat destruction and over-exploitation.

"To lose these species would be a self-destructive act of unparalleled folly."