The blood of endangered giant pandas may hold the key to improved antibiotics, say scientists in China.
Pandas produce a compound called cathelicidin-AM, which kills fungi and bacteria in their blood. Because the compound is a natural byproduct of the pandas' unique genetic makeup, it may be more difficult for germs to develop resistances to.
"It showed potential antimicrobial activities against wide spectrum of microorganisms including bacteria and fungi, both standard and drug-resistant strains," said Xiuwen Yan, at the Life Sciences College at China's Nanjing Agricultural University.
"Under the pressure of increasing microorganisms with drug resistance against conventional antibiotics, there is urgent need to develop new types of antimicrobial agents."
Hospitals around the world are fighting a losing battle against "superbugs," microbes that have evolved in the presence of rampant antibiotic use and have now developed immunities to most or all conventional treatments.
But with only 1,600 giant pandas still living in the wild, the discovery may have come too late.
Captive breeding programs at zoos and research facilities have not had much luck in boosting panda fertility or birth rates, and a newborn panda is cause for worldwide celebration.
Fortunately, scientists have been able to synthesize cathelicidin-AM in the laboratory, so no panda farms full of blood harvesting pods are in the works yet.
But the discovery may give more fuel to conservationists trying to protect the panda. Some environmental activists say the massive amounts of money spent to keep pandas from going extinct could be put to much better use saving more environmentally important species.
But others say pandas are an important mascot for the movement, and fundraising featuring pandas brings in money that can be spent on all kinds of environmental endeavors.
And good news for the pandas may mean good news for people with previously untreatable infections.