CollegiateLuggage.com: Where science is more than just a seven-letter word.

I read a fascinating article in my April 25th issue of THE WEEK magazine, regarding the remarkable health of alligators - they almost never get sick. They have super immune systems that ward off virtually every virus and bacteria, and scientists are now trying to figure out their secret, to create treatments that could be used by humans.

Researchers found that when they exposed alligator and human blood samples to 23 types of bacteria, the gator blood killed them all, while the human samples destroyed just eight. "Alligators tend to get into tussles and fights", Lancia Darville, a researcher at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge told USA Today. "They have torn limbs and scratches that are exposed to all of this bacteria in the water, yet they are never infected."

It appears that gators do not rely on customized antibodies to destroy micro-invaders, but have proteins in their blood that kill off everything that seems remotely alien to their system. "They don’t need to be exposed to any microorganism such as bacteria, viruses, fungi [bulldogs, war eagles, blue tick hounds, elephants, wildcats, gamecocks or commodores] for their bodies to respond against them," Darville says. As soon as the chemical structures of these key proteins are understood, she says, they can be examined for their potential as human cures.

Here at CollegiateLuggage.com we believe that gators love the taste of our travel gear. Is it a factor in their amazing immune systems? Try our business and travel gear for yourself and you be the judge.