Poisonous snakes up to 10 million years do not need to evolve

Cobra venom attacks a protein that helps to clot blood, making it impossible for prey to resist.

Researchers at the University of Queensland have found that the snake snake has an effective venom up to 10 million years ago, could not evolve, according to IB Times. This is a special case in the evolution of snakes.

In the natural world, hunters and prey will participate in an "arms race". Hunters like cobra will develop weapons to kill, while prey will evolve to resist.

The venom of the attacking cobra on prothrombin helps to clot.(Photo: IB Times).

However, the snake's venom stopped participating in the race more than 10 million years ago. The reason is that this poison targets prothrombin , a protein that helps blood clotting and plays an important role in the organism to the point that it cannot be changed.

Coagulation is formed by many long and complex enzyme chains that work at a perfectly balanced level. When gene mutations occur that disrupt this process, the patient is in a very dangerous situation, such as hemophilia. This means that proteins such as prothrombin, under the pressure of evolutionary selection, must be preserved.

When the ancestors of the cobra are poisoned by prothrombin attack, the prey cannot evolve to be toxic because it will affect the balance of blood clotting. Another advantage of cobra venom is prothrombin which is found in many animals, making it an extremely versatile and versatile weapon.

"Our coagulation mechanism is surprisingly preserved, more than any other physiological function. This is similar to many other animals - from amphibians to birds and mammals." , study author Bryan Fry said.

The study was conducted on 16 cobra populations in southern Australia and all have the same toxic type. Three other snake groups belonging to the family close to the cobra also have this poison.

This information makes it easier to treat wounds caused by certain snake bites, as an effective antitoxin for this cobra will be effective for all types of cobra and all three other snake groups. .