NICOLAS Gilles points to a dozen metal boxes in a refrigerator, all filled with preserved samples of animal toxins, mini-proteins that are among the most dangerous substances found in nature — secretions made to paralyse, suffocate or kill.The refrigerator contains more than 4,000 samples from 201 venomous species: snakes, spiders, and cone snail, among them.The researcher at the Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission outside Paris co-ordinates a European project called Venomics, which has been studying therapeutic uses of animal venom.Launched four years ago, the project ended a few weeks ago with a closing conference at the French National Museum of Natural History in Paris.It was an opportunity for participants from all over Europe to make assessments about their activities and talk about leads to be developed in the future.The idea of creating drugs made from animal substances that are designed to attack prey or protect against an enemy is not new."To produce their ne...
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