Cone Shell Snails: Little Creatures Tackling Big Pain. Doctors also could make a painkiller 1000 times more than MORPHINE!!!

It Could Kill You: Thanks to their unique colors and intricate patterns, cone shells look like they’d make great beach souvenirs. But watch your fingers; they’re actually home to one of the world’s deadliest creatures. Cone shell snails come equipped with an extendable “arm” – complete with a sharp, venomous tooth – that they use to immobilize and kill prey. And while the venom certainly helps the slow-moving hunters from going hungry, it can also paralyze, or even kill, victims. The good news: Death by cone shell is completely painless.

But It Just Might Cure You: Cone shell venom, called conotoxin, has incredible potential as a painkiller, with one added bonus: Unlike many current anesthetics, conotoxin isn’t addictive. In 2005, Ireland-based Elan Pharmaceuticals became the first company to market a drug made from the venom. Called Prialt, the drug is pumped into the fluid around a patient’s spine to relieve chronic pain and is believed to be up to 1,000 times more powerful than morphine. Meanwhile, at the University of Melbourne, a research team headed by Professor Bruce Livett is currently developing another conotoxin-based painkiller called ACV1, which was first tested in the summer of 2005. Unlike Prialt, however, ACV1 doesn’t affect a patient’s blood pressure and can be injected under the skin, making it a lot less intimidating. Plus, ACV1 is believed to be as much as 10,000 times stronger than morphine.