Searching for Hope and Finding It in a Cone Snail

I’ve been watching the Philippines get slammed again. People have died. Back-to-back typhoons hitting one after the other. Earthquakes. Mudslides swallowing entire hillsides and floods rising higher than the first floor of people’s homes. Lives lost and families displaced. And then, as if the disasters were not enough, the news comes out that some officials did not even build the flood-control systems they were funded for. Seriously? Every year it feels like a real-life season ten of corruption, except nobody is laughing.

After seeing all of that, I wanted to find something good. I wanted proof that the Philippines is more than just a country stuck in an endless loop of disasters and corruption.

So, I went looking for a hero. And I found one: Dr. Baldomero Olivera.

From the Philippines to Caltech to Stanford to Changing Medicine

Dr. Olivera grew up in the Philippines, studied there, and eventually did research at Caltech and Stanford. That is basically the science version of making it to the major leagues.

But even that is not the coolest part. What really grabbed my attention was one of his discoveries involving cone snails.

These are the tiny shells you see all over Philippine beaches. Most locals don’t think much of them, but their venom can actually be extremely powerful. My own lolo collected tons of them, and with just a safety pin he would pick out the snail meat and feed it to his younger siblings like it was a normal afternoon snack. I had no idea those little creatures carried venom that could change modern medicine.

Dr. Olivera studied that venom and discovered something incredible. Scientists were able to develop a non-opioid painkiller that is stronger than morphine but without the risk of addiction. The drug is called Ziconotide, also known as Prialt.

A tiny snail from Philippine shores helped create one of the most powerful non-addictive pain relievers in the world. If that is not hero material, then I do not know what is.

“Our biodiversity is our national treasure.” This quote from Dr. Olivera really stayed with me.

The Philippines has some of the richest biodiversity on the planet. There are plants, corals, animals, and sea creatures that exist nowhere else. There are hidden cures and hidden breakthroughs waiting to be discovered. Maybe we have not even scratched the surface yet.

Dr. Olivera continues his research at the University of Utah, yet he keeps advocating for the Philippines. He believes the next big scientific discovery could easily come from the islands if Filipinos protect them.

But Then There Is the Generational Corruption

Here is the painful part.

The Philippines has brilliant people. The country has mind-blowing natural resources. The culture is strong and resilient. But corruption feels like a final boss the nation keeps fighting and never fully defeats.

Can anyone solve it? Honestly, I am not sure.

But I do know this. Heroes like Dr. Olivera remind us that the Philippines is worth fighting for. There is something worth fixing. There is something worth believing in.

Corruption might not end in one generation, but maybe heroes inspire new heroes. And maybe one day someone from our generation, the ones watching all of this unfold, will be the person who finally says, “Enough.”

Until then, at least we know the Philippines is not only tragedy. It is also brilliance, discovery, and world-class science found in the most unexpected places, even inside a tiny cone snail.