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Researchers at UC Davis are attempting to turn tarantula venom into pain relievers.
“Nature offers such a wide diversity of, you know, proteins that basically for us are building blocks of future medicines,” Dr. Vladimir Yarov-Yarovoy with UC Davis Health told CBS13.
Yarov-Yarovoy is one of the lead researchers in the 20-person team. The researchers are reprogramming the proteins of the venom called peptides and turning it into a pain killer.
“We redesign that peptide to make it more selective for particular receptors in our nervous system that are highly responsible for pain signals," he said.
"We expect it to be a game-changer really," research team member Phuong Nguyen told CBS13. "For us, it’s cool. Really cool because we’re maybe a few people doing that."
According to CBS13, it could be at least five years before any new medicines hit the shelves.
Despite the slow process, this research could be a breakthrough in the opioid epidemic.
“It’s already showing promise to be as potent as morphine but without the side effects of opioids,” said Yarov-Yarovoy.
Although the specific end-product of the project is unclear, he told CBS13 the long-term goal is to have something someone can get at a pharmacy.