Panda blood can be useful against fungi and bacteria.

Panda bears often entertain people on the internet. In addition to the traditional video of a sneezing puppy, they were also made famous by the Mysts of Pandaria expansion, released for the World of Warcraft game, and the fact that their droppings are the raw material for a “delicious” Chinese tea. Pity is the fact that, well before the popularization of the Internet, these animals were already threatened with extinction.

Now scientists have discovered something that could further impact the continuity of panda bears. According to researchers at Nanjing University of Agronomy in China, the blood of these mammals has an antibiotic compound that is up to six times stronger than any other current medicine.

Six times more potent antibiotic

To reach this conclusion, the scientists isolated a peptide present in the cells of the animal's immune system. Called Cathelicidin-AM, this compound can kill even today's drug-resistant bacteria and fungi, acting much faster.

According to news published by DVICE, tests have shown that the natural antibiotic of these bears is capable of killing microorganisms in one hour that conventional drugs take about six hours to eliminate.

This compound can be made into both medicine and surface disinfectants. Still, scientists warn that their panda genome-related research has not yet been completed and that in the future more drugs like these may be discovered.

Not surprisingly, this news may raise very pertinent ethical questions and concerns. As these animals become useful for humans, it is likely that more investments in the preservation of the species are likely to emerge. However, at the same time, the drugs can only be created with pandas' blood extraction, something that should not be very comfortable for the animal.