Pest or Best No. 7: The Wasp Continued

The word “pest” is quite subjective and will differ from person to person dependent on what they like or dislike or potential phobias.

As a professional pest control business we feel that education is a great way to help customers and the public understand the delicate Eco-system that exists and show how “pests” can be both good and bad…… However this week, we have a returning guest in the Wasp- but not just the common wasp we see terrorising our barbeques, instead we have its South American relative, The Brazilian Wasp.

The Brazilian Wasp has been predominantly featured in the online press and physics publications at the time of this post, but not for the reasons most would predict. Instead of the imagined ‘swarms of wasps attacking households, risking the lives of many’, the truth is actually quite the opposite. The Brazilian Wasp may be able to treat cancer!

The venom produced by the Brazilian Wasp to protect itself from predators contains a special toxin which create large holes on the surface of the cancer cells where the crucial cancer molecules can leak out of the membrane. Co-senior study author Paul Beales of the University of Leeds said this revelation “would be an entirely new class of anticancer drugs” if the research continues to be fruitful as it “could be useful in developing new combination therapies to treat cancer”. For the full report, visit thePhysics.Org website.

It has been said that future studies will allow to examine whether this toxin is strictly selective in killing cancer cells, while avoiding harm to normal cells, which is a process to research cures for further illnesses. So, when thinking about the benefits of the wasp family in the eco-system, remember that some varieties have the ability to potentially save a life.