Meet The Gila Monster — The Lizard That Gave Us Ozempic
The Gila monster, a venomous lizard native to the US, employs a unique chewing bite to deliver venom, a method that has remained largely unchanged for millions of years. This slow, deliberate venom delivery system, unlike the rapid strike of snakes, is thought to be adapted for its prey and serves as a predator deterrent. Remarkably, a peptide identified in its venom, exendin-4, mimics the human hormone GLP-1 and inspired the development of modern diabetes and weight-loss drugs like Ozempic. AI
