Scorpion Venom: Robots Take Human Job Of Milking Arachnids For Medicine

Robots could take over the human job of milking a scorpion for its venom, potentially making the task a lot safer for everyone involved. The Society for Experimental Biology described the robot as clamping onto a scorpion's tail and using electrical stimulation to get it to release venom that can be safely collected. The robot is also portable and lightweight, and can be operated by a single person. According to SEB, which recently held its annual main meeting in Gothenburg, Sweden, the technology can have different settings for different species of scorpion and can be programmed to remember them. "The extraction of scorpion venom is a very difficult task and usually takes at least two experimenters," robot designer Mouad Mkamel said in the society's statement.