The paralysing sting may have been taken out of one of the Earth's most venomous creatures, with Australian researchers claiming to have found a new antidote to box jellyfish poison.

Key points: Sydney University researchers were trying to find the reasons behind pain from box jellyfish stings when they cracked a method to block it

Sydney University researchers were trying to find the reasons behind pain from box jellyfish stings when they cracked a method to block it For the antidote to be successful it has to be applied onto the skin 15 minutes after the sting occurs

For the antidote to be successful it has to be applied onto the skin 15 minutes after the sting occurs The researchers say they are now looking to find government or commercial partners to push it into the market

The potentially fatal box jellyfish populate waters across the tropical Top End, particularly during "stinger season", from October to May.

The ocean-dwellers can have up to 60 tentacles and grow to three metres in length, and have been known to cause excruciating, burning pain — as one recent victim described it, "like being bitten and electrocuted at the same time".

If the dose of venom was large enough, a box jellyfish sting could cause cardiac arrest or death.

Now, Sydney University researchers studying how box jellyfish venom causes pain have claimed to have cracked upon a medicine which would block the symptoms.

"Box jellyfish venom hurts really, really, really badly, and we didn't understand how it works, so we started from that angle, of trying to figure out how the pain works," Associate Professor Greg Neely told the ABC.

"And then while we were studying it we realised, 'oh this pathway's totally blockable with drugs', so we just tested it and it worked."

While box jellyfish antivenom already exists and is available in some Northern Territory and Queensland hospitals and clinics, this new study has been lauded as "the first molecular dissection of how this type of venom works, and possibly how any venom works".

While the current pharmaceutical antivenom is given as an injection, researchers have said they hope this new medicine could eventually be applied as a topical cream or spray.

Landmark research uses genome editing

According to the landmark research published in science journal Nature Communications on Wednesday, the study used CRISPR whole genome editing to identify how the venom worked.

"Using new CRISPR genome editing techniques we could quickly identify how this venom kills human cells," Associate Professor Neely said.

"Luckily, there was already a drug that could act on the pathway the venom uses to kill cells, and when we tried this drug as a venom antidote on mice, we found it could block the tissue scarring and pain related to jellyfish stings.

"It is super exciting."

For the antidote to be effective in blocking the venom it has to be applied to the sting site within 15 minutes of contact.

"We know the drug will stop the necrosis, skin scarring and the pain completely when applied to the skin," Associate Professor Neely said.

"We don't know yet if it will stop a heart attack.

"That will need more research and we are applying for funding to continue this work."

The venom used in the study was collected from a box jellyfish off the waters of Cairns by Associate Professor Jamie Seymour at James Cook University.

The Sydney University researchers have now begun looking for a government or a commercial partner to push it forward into the drug market.

Expert expresses concern over study

Lisa-Ann Gershwin, the director of the Australian Marine Stinger Advisory Service, voiced her apprehension about the study, saying vinegar should remain the preferred first treatment when dealing with jellyfish stings.

After a brief reading of the study, Dr Gershwin said there was a risk topical ointment could activate the stinging cells, prompting them to inject "more venom" into the body and potentially trigger a cardiac arrest.

"No pain-relieving ointment is going to take the place of vinegar," Dr Gershwin said.

"Because it's not about pain relief — it's about saving someone's life.

"So I'm worried about this [study]. It's got my hair standing on edge, it really does."

The current standard treatment for a box jellyfish sting, prior to hospitalisation, is dousing the area with vinegar for 30 seconds.