The Benefit in the Sting

Ancient, adaptable and yet enigmatic and misunderstood. Scorpions holds significant importance not only for the role they play in an ecosystem but also for the medical benefits they afford humans.

Scorpions are ancient creatures that are found on almost every part of our planet and the way in which they have adapted to survive extreme conditions is remarkable.

To find out more about these remarkable and deadly creatures, 99FM’s MYD Earth spoke to Namibian scientist, Martin Handjaba, who is studying scorpions at the Gobabeb Research & Training Centre in the Namib Desert.

Martin Handjaba is a senior research technician and a young research scientist from the Namibia University of Science and Technology. Martin is interested in how scorpions survive in the palaces that they build underground to withstand the harsh desert conditions.

In 99FM’s MYD Earth show, we spoke to Martin Handjaba, about scorpions, what makes the unique and what makes the scorpions of the Namib desert extraordinary.

Here are some of the areas covered in this episode of MYD Earth :

• Why scorpions are worth protecting and the role they play in the ecosystem
• How aggressive scorpions are and to what extent they are a threat to human life
• The fascinating medical role scorpions play and the latest discoveries in this field
• The myths and the facts about scorpions including what to look out for if you spot a scorpion

Take a listen to the MYD Earth show with Martin Handjaba, here :

https://soundcloud.com/99fm/myd-earth-scorpions

Take a look at Oliver Halsey’s article on Martin’s research on the scorpions of the Namib desert by clicking here