AUSTRALIA: An Australian PhD student believes that the sting of a deadly jellyfish could aid the fight against male sexual dysfunction.
Lisa-Anne Gershwin, a student at Queensland's James Cook University, said men stung by the Irukandji jellyfish could experience prolonged erections. "Once we stop giggling and sneering over it, it's actually quite a medically dangerous thing," Ms Gershwin told Australia's ABC radio.
"It's also interesting in that it opens up avenues of pharmaceutical investigation to look at harnessing whatever it is that's doing that for actual pharmaceutical benefit," she said.
However, she urged caution in dealing with the jellyfish, which is two centimetres in diameter and is found only in Queensland's Mackay-Whitsunday region.
"It's not the kind of thing that you'd want to say woo too, hot date tonight, jump into the water in Mackay'. The Irukandji syndrome that it produces is dangerous. It could potentially be fatal," she said.
In 2002 two tourists swimming in the region died after being stung by Irukandji. On average, 60 people are hospitalised each summer after being stung by the species. Irukandji, named after an Aboriginal tribe that once lived in the area, are found mostly in the deeper waters of the Barrier Reef, but can be swept inshore.