|
 |
 | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | You are in: UK: Scotland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | | Wednesday, 20 March, 2002, 09:23 GMT Scientists in shark health study  Sharks have highly developed immune systems Scottish scientists are about to embark on a study of why sharks rarely get sick. Researchers at Aberdeen University have secured enterprise cash to carry out the work which they hope will lead to new cures for human illnesses. Scientists already know about the species long history, they were around before dinosaurs. And they believe their longevity could be down to a very efficient immune system. The research, being funded by Scottish Enterprise cash, will centre on looking at the shark's antibodies.
The Aberdeen researchers are interested in the size of the antibodies which are less than half the size of human ones. They think that small antibodies can more easily penetrate tissue and neutralise things like cancer or infections. The scientists plan to create a genetic library of shark antibodies. And appropriately the first species to be examined will be the nurse shark. The shark project is one of 38 to share in �6m being made available by Scottish Enterprise. Other winners include projects to develop more effective treatment of disease using optoelectronics, advanced technology for interactive toys and board games, and new ways of detecting tooth decay. Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Minister Wendy Alexander said: "Each of the 38 early-stage projects receiving awards today will aspire to become a successful commercial product. "This volume of superb quality ideas will surely result in significant returns for Scotland." Robert Crawford, chief executive of Scottish Enterprise added: "Funding this type of early stage research is risky and the full economic potential will take anything up to 20 years to generate." | |
See also:  Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top Scotland stories now:  Links to more Scotland stories are at the foot of the page. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Links to more Scotland stories |
 | | ^^ Back to top News Front Page | World | UK | UK Politics | Business | Sci/Tech | Health | Education | Entertainment | Talking Point | In Depth | AudioVideo ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To BBC Sport>> | To BBC Weather>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMIII|News Sources|Privacy  |
E-mail this story to a friend