Radioactive Scorpion Venom...that'll make something tingly

MAKING RADIOACTIVE SCORPION VENOM THERAPY SAFE.
At this week's meeting of the Health Physics Society in Providence, researchers will describe how they have helped establish the safety of a surprising new treatment for an aggressive, essentially incurable malignant cancer called high-grade brain glioma, diagnosed in over 17,000 people in the US every year. The treatment is based on the discovery that the venom in the yellow Israeli scorpion contains a protein that binds selectively to the glioma cells. The procedure uses a compound called TM-601, a synthetic version of the venom protein attached to a radioactive substance called I-131 that kills the glioma cells. When injected into the bloodstream, the radioactive scorpion venom protein travels to the brain and attaches to the glioma cells, with the I-131 releasing radiation that kills the cells.

The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Physics News
Number 782 June 27, 2006 by Phillip F. Schewe, Ben Stein, and
Davide Castelvecchi

-how the hell do you get from Israeli scorpions to curing a rare brain cancer? It's not exactly square peg in the square hole kinda thinking.