Platypus milk could kill bacteria, say scientists

THE MILK from the humble duck-billed platypus, an animal native to Australia, might hold an unlikely answer to global superbug woes, according to a breakthrough study by Australian scientists.

A protein in the semiaquatic venomous animal’s milk – dubbed the “Shirley Temple” – could be used to kill off bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics, the researchers said.

“Platypus are such weird animals that it would make sense for them to have weird biochemistry,” said Janet Newman, the lead author on the research published in Structural Biology Communications.

Her team from CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), an independent government agency in Australia, are trying to explain why platypus milk is so potent by replicating a special protein contained in platypus milk in a laboratory setting.

The beaver-tailed platypus is a monotreme, like echidnas, one of the very few mammals that lay eggs and produce milk to feed their young.

As they don’t have teats, they express their highlynutritious milk onto their belly – leaving it exposed to the environment and leaving babies susceptible to the perils of bacteria.

The scientists discovered in the lab a unique ringletformation. – dpa