To most of us, medicine comes from a drugstore.But originally, much of the medicine developed in the last centurycame from natural sources: plants, bacteria and fungi.Now, a group of scientists in Great Britainare hoping to develop a medicine from poisonous insects.They are researching whether the deadly venom of some insectscan work against bacteria that make people sick.About 400 insects live in plastic containers in the Venomtech laboratory.Each container has an image of a skull and crossbones.The images warn that a bite from the insects insidecan be anything from painful to downright deadly.The venom from these insects contains hundreds of chemical components.Each component has a different target and effect.Medical researchers, such as Venomtech managing director Steven Trim,separate the venom into its component parts.Then they create a library of those components,looking for the ones that could be turned into new drugs."Some of them we found can kill bacteria, bacteria like E.Coli and staphylococcus,so they're very relevant at the moment where modern medicines (are) failing.And we're also finding venoms that are modifying and killing cancer cells."Finding new ways to kill bacteria is important to researchers.One reason is because people have used antibiotics so muchthat some bacteria can now resist it.For example, tuberculosis used to be curable with antibiotics.Now it is not.To get as much venom as possible,researchers feed the insects well,then put them to sleep temporarily.Steven Trim of Venomtech saysresearchers anaesthetize the invertebratesto make removing the venom safer.After all, an immobile insect cannot bite.Anaesthetizing the insect is better for the animals as well, says Trim.Researchers then electrically stimulate the insectto contract the muscle and squeeze the gland.The pressure produces a small amount of venom.Researchers separate the venom into hundreds of proteins.Each protein contains between one and five different molecules.Someday, those tiny moleculesmight be turned into powerful new drugs.