Platypus 'miracle milk' may offer 'superbug' treatment

Australian research raises hope of breakthrough in fight against infections

Nikkei platypus 3. The platypus is a small, shy animal that makes its home in burrows on the banks of freshwater streams and rivers. Photo court.jpg

Australian scientists are investigating the medicinal properties of milk from the platypus, an egg-laying mammal found only in parts of Australia. (Courtesy of CSIRO)

GEOFF HISCOCK, Contributing writer

November 16, 2020 08:30 JST

SYDNEY -- Australia's platypus is an animal so strange it would not be out of place in a "Star Wars" cantina -- an egg-laying mammal with the bill of a duck, the tail of a beaver and a unique way of nurturing its young by excreting milk through its belly like sweat.