Scientists are turning to an unexpected group of animals—snakes and lizards—to help understand how humans might one day prevent painful kidney stones and gout.
The idea comes from a surprising evolutionary trick that reptiles use to survive in dry and harsh environments.
Instead of urinating liquid waste the way humans do, reptiles turn much of their waste into solid crystals so they can save precious water. This unusual ability may also offer clues for stopping uric acid from causing health problems in humans.
A team of researchers studied the solid urine of more than twenty reptile species and reported their findings in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. They discovered that every sample they examined contained tiny spheres made of uric acid.
These microscopic spheres are part of how reptiles safely remove waste from their bodies without using much water. Scientists believe that learning how reptiles do this could point to new ways of treating diseases caused by uric acid buildup in humans.
Professor Jennifer Swift, a chemist at Georgetown University and the lead researcher, explained that the team wanted to understand how reptiles avoid the kinds of problems that uric acid causes in people. In humans, uric acid is normally flushed out through the kidneys as part of liquid urine.
But when uric acid levels get too high, crystals can form inside the joints, leading to gout, or inside the kidneys and urinary tract, causing kidney stones. Both conditions are extremely painful and becoming more common worldwide.
Reptiles handle nitrogen waste differently. Humans mainly remove nitrogen waste through urea, ammonia, and some uric acid dissolved in urine. Reptiles, on the other hand, convert parts of these compounds into solid crystals called “urates.”
These crystals leave the body through a single opening called the cloaca. This method helps reptiles hold onto water, which is important for survival in dry climates. But the same types of crystals, if formed inside the human body, can lead to medical emergencies.
Swift’s team used advanced microscopes to look closely at reptile urates. They found that snakes such as pythons and Madagascan tree boas produce uric acid crystals that form into textured spheres about 0.0004 of an inch across.
Each sphere is made up of even smaller nanocrystals. The scientists also discovered that uric acid plays an important role in helping reptiles turn toxic ammonia into a safer, solid form before the waste leaves their bodies.
This observation raises an interesting question. Could uric acid have a similar protective role in humans—one that scientists have not yet fully understood? The researchers say that more studies are needed before drawing conclusions, but the possibility is intriguing.
The bigger message from this research is that the natural world often holds clues to solving human health problems. Reptiles have spent millions of years evolving a way to manage uric acid safely.
If scientists can understand exactly how their waste crystals form without causing harm, they might be able to design new treatments to prevent uric acid from forming painful crystals in people.
After reviewing the findings, the study shows a promising direction for future research. The most important discovery is that all reptile species examined, from snakes to lizards, create microscopic uric acid spheres. This consistency suggests a universal biological strategy that has evolved across many reptile species.
The ability of uric acid to bind with ammonia and convert it into a harmless solid also reveals a chemical pathway that may be useful in human medicine. However, the study does not yet explain exactly how reptiles avoid the harmful effects of these crystals, or how their bodies prevent blockages.
More research is needed to understand whether humans could safely use similar processes. Still, the idea that studying reptile waste could lead to treatments for gout and kidney stones is both scientifically exciting and medically valuable.
If you care about kidney health, please read studies about pesticide linked to chronic kidney disease, and this drug may prevent kidney failure in people with diabetes.
For more health information, please see recent studies about drug duo that may treat kidney failure, and results showing these vegetables may protect against kidney damage.
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