A New Species of Scorpio from Saudi Arabia (Scorpiones: Scorpionidae)

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  A New Species of Scorpio from Saudi Arabia (Scorpiones: Scorpionidae)  Abstract A new species of  Scorpio  Linnaeus, 1758 is described from Al Ula Governorate, Al Madinah Province, Saudi Arabia.  Scorpio furvus  sp. nov. is distinguished from closely related congeners, including  S. fuscus ,  S. kruglovi ,  S. palmatus ,  S. jordanensis , and  S. yemenensis , by a unique combination of morphological characters notably the granulation pattern of the pedipalp chela, metasomal proportions, pectinal structure and length, and overall dark coloration. Morphometric comparisons further support its distinct status. The discovery of this species highlights the underestimated diversity of the genus  Scorpio  in the Arabian Peninsula and reinforces the view that the  Scorpio maurus  complex comprises multiple geographically restricted taxa requiring continued integrative taxonomic investigation. Aloufi, A., Afifeh, B. A., ...

Targeting with toxins: an overview of venom peptides in drug delivery

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Targeting with toxins: an overview of venom peptides in drug delivery

Abstract

Due to the numerous issues associated with many current drug therapies, including lack of efficiency and off-target toxicity, targeted drug delivery has become a critical area of pharmaceutical research. Natural compounds show great promise for active drug targeting, since many of them possess distinct activity towards biomolecules in human body. That includes peptide toxins derived from venoms of various animals, which have often been tailored by evolution to target biomolecules in living systems with high potency and specificity.
In this review, we discuss the current research on the use of venom peptides for specific tissue targeting, in order to deliver therapeutic or diagnostic agents. Various delivery systems, predominantly nanoparticles and bioconjugates, have been developed using either natural, or modified venom peptides. Among these, chlorotoxin, a scorpion-derived toxin, and exendin-4, from lizard venom, have shown particular promise in targeted delivery. While many of these delivery systems have been designed for cancer or nervous system targeting, other conditions have also been approached. Besides therapeutic drug delivery, numerous targeted imaging agents have been developed and investigated for precise visualization of specific conditions.
Mazurs, A., Mauriņa, B., Bandere, D., & Logviss, K. (2025). Targeting with toxins: An overview of venom peptides in drug delivery. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 126193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2025.126193