Nifty Spittle: Compound in bat saliva may aid stroke patients

When a vampire bat bites an animal, its saliva introduces an anticlotting agent to keep the blood meal flowing. Scientists now report that this compound, which busts up blood clots as well as the leading medication for treating strokes does, avoids one of the drug’s major drawbacks.

GOOD GUY? The saliva of the common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus, contains a compound that might yield a new drug for dissolving blood clots in stroke victims.