Sentences with phrase «of venom toxins»

The researchers propose that adding insulin to the mix of venom toxins enabled predatory cone snails to disable entire schools of swimming fish with hypoglycemic shock.

Not exact matches

A newly identified toxin in the venom of a tropical centipede helps the arthropod to overpower giant prey in about 30 seconds.

These adaptations include the massive and rapid expansion of gene families that produce venom toxins, providing the snake with a highly toxic protein mixture required to overcome a variety of different prey and also circumvent any resistance to venom that may have developed in such prey.

Venom from an eastern diamondback rattlesnake in the Everglades is distinct from the cocktail of toxins delivered by the same species in the Florida panhandle area, some 500 miles away.

The diversification of these toxins correlates directly with their functional importance in prey capture, for example the most pathogenic king cobra toxin family have undergone massive expansion, while, in contrast, venom proteins with less important functions do not participate in the evolutionary arms race occurring between snakes and their prey.

Armed with the both the king cobra and Burmese python genome the team was able to show that, despite previous hypotheses that venom genes evolve «early» in the lineage leading to snakes, venom gene families do not duplicate early, in fact the study shows that the rapid and extensive expansion of functionally important venom toxin families is restricted to the venomous «advanced» snake lineage.

Ken Shea and colleagues at the University of California, Irvine, used melittin, the toxin in bee venom, as the antigen (the substance triggering an immune reaction).

The researchers identified 5 toxins within the snake venom and used a technique called SPOT - synthesis to identify the sections of the toxin (epitopes) that are recognized by coral snake antivenom antibodies.

Now, researchers report that they have devised nanoparticles that sop up a variety of common venom toxins in test tube studies, a key stride in coming up with the first ever broad - spectrum snake antivenom.

Later on, when the sea anemones grow big and become predators themselves, their venom adapts to their new lifestyle by producing a different kind of toxin, one best suited to catch small fish and shrimp.

According to Drs. Moran and Sunagar, «The «two - speed» mode of evolution of animal venoms involves an initial period of expansion, resulting in the rapid diversification of the venom arsenal, followed by longer periods of purifying selection that preserve the now potent toxin pharmacopeia.

Claudio Vita and his colleagues at the protein engineering department of CEA, the French nuclear research agency in Gif - sur - Yvette, are using the toxins found in scorpion venom as a chemical scaffold to build novel proteins for use as drugs (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol 92, p 6404).

The fact that venoms are mixtures of specifically targeted toxins rather than single toxins is exactly what makes them such rich sources of potential drugs — that's all a drug is, really, a compound that has a desired effect on our bodies.

«So we have a new addition to the theory of venom evolution; that when the target itself is under extreme negative selection pressure against change, then the toxins themselves are under similar such pressure.

«These findings raise important questions relating to the processes that other venomous animals may have used to generate their venom toxins,» wroteNicholas Casewell, senior lecturer and Wellcome Trust research fellow with the Alistair Reid Venom Research Unit at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, in a summary dispatch published alongside the Current Biology pvenom toxins,» wroteNicholas Casewell, senior lecturer and Wellcome Trust research fellow with the Alistair Reid Venom Research Unit at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, in a summary dispatch published alongside the Current Biology pVenom Research Unit at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, in a summary dispatch published alongside the Current Biology paper.

Black widow (Latrodectus mactans) The venom of the black widow contains a nerve toxin that produces excruciating pain throughout the body.

A new study by Rice University biophysicists offers the most comprehensive picture yet of the molecular - level action of melittin, the principal toxin in bee venom.

The insulin genes were more highly expressed in the venom gland than genes for some of the established venom toxins.

Dr. Levy says that proper doses of vitamin C can safely and effectively eliminate the threat of all viruses — as well as toxins from drug overdoses and even venom from snake bites.