Image description: Dr. Sabah Ul-Hasan wears a University of Utah black and red sweatshirt, kneels in a tidepool and smiles toward camera. Superimposed, Dr. Joshua Torres leans back wearing sunglasses and a short-sleeved grey t-shirt and smiles toward camera. The Ologies logo appears in the lower right corner.

Predatory. Sneaky. Deadly. Lifesavers? You think you don’t care about cone snails. But that’s about to change. Conotoxinologists Dr. Sabah Ul-Hasan and Dr. Joshua Torres study these spiral-shelled hunters of the sea. Why all the fuss? Because their venom -– and the microbes that live in it — may hold medical magic that can help us solve problems related to pain and insulin and much more. Also: how long can you live after a cigarette snail strikes you? What happens to researchers who get stung? How is venom harvested? Should you ever pick one up? The docs have all the answers.

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Transcript

Follow Dr. Joshua Torres on Twitter

Connect with Dr. Sabah Ul-Hasan via LinkedIn

You may also enjoy our episodes on Malacology (SNAILS), Medusology (JELLYFISH) & Toxinology (JELLYFISH VENOM)

Donations were made to Helping Women Period and OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates

More links you may enjoy:

Small-molecule mimicry hunting strategy in the imperial cone snail, Conus imperialis

Diverse Cone-Snail Species Harbor Closely Related Streptomyces Species with Conserved Chemical and Genetic Profiles, Including Polycyclic Tetramic Acid Macrolactams

Cone Snails Are Liars and Murderers

Conotoxinology in the literature

Dr. Baldomero “Toto” Olivera