Dolphin?s Mysterious Healing Power Could Help Skin Injuries in Humans

The remarkable wound healing abilities of dolphins might provide clue to cure of human skin injuries, a recent study has revealed.

Dolphins are able to heal quickly from a shark bite with apparent indifference to pain, resistance to infection and hemorrhage protection, Michael Zasloff, a researcher at Georgetown University Medical Center says in a statement.

"How does the dolphin not bleed to death after a shark bite? How is it that dolphins appear not to suffer significant pain? What prevents infection of a significant injury? And how can a deep, gaping wound heal in such a way that the animal's body contour is restored? Comparable injuries in humans would be fatal," the researcher says.

Zasloff's finding, published in the July issue of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, explains that dolphin's healing ability is more like regeneration.

Dolphin's blubber, the fat deposit under their skin, contains natural organohalogens which are known to have antimicrobial properties and antibiotic activity, Zasloff notes.

"It's most likely that the dolphin stores its own antimicrobial compound and releases it when an injury occurs. This action could control and prevent microbial infection while at the same time prevent decomposition around the animal's injury," he predicts.