Health & Medicine – Page 2

Bite from the past: new study on boomslang venom provides insights into the death of renowned herpetologist Karl Schmidt

The deadly boomslang, the snake fingered in the death of Dr. Karl Schmidt. Photo by William Warby

The actual bite happened in less than a second. Dr. Karl Schmidt, an American herpetologist at the Field Museum in Chicago, had been sent a live snake to identify by his colleague, Richard Marlin Perkins (then the director of the Lincoln Park Zoo). The animal appeared to be a boomslang (Dispholidus typhus), a kind of rear-fanged African snake, but there was something a bit odd about its scales, so Schmidt and his colleagues discussed the matter as they examined the serpent. It didn’t take long for the agitated animal to decide it had had enough manhandling. “I took it from Dr. Inger without thinking of any precaution, and it promptly bit me on the fleshy lateral aspect of the first joint of the left thumb,” Schmidt wrote in his diary on September 25th, 1957. “The mouth was widely opened and the bite was made with the rear fangs only, only the right fang entering to its full length of about 3 mm.” A day later, he would be dead. Continue reading “Bite from the past: new study on boomslang venom provides insights into the death of renowned herpetologist Karl Schmidt”

Have yourself a toxic berry Christmas

It’s evening on Christmas Eve, and it’s cold. The early sunset was hours ago, and the insulating clouds have vanished, leaving every surface frozen and glittering like the inside of a geode wherever the light from the street lamps touch. A couple braces as they leave their car and step out into the winter air, their ears filled with the sound of the snow creaking and crunching beneath each fall of their boots, each breath precipitating into thin, gray tendrils that slide past their chilled cheeks. They reach the door of their destination; a home glowing and warm, with muffled laughter and the clatter of silverware spilling out into the dry, stratospheric cold of the street. One of them places a round of knocks below a voluminous wreath of holly, its scarlet berries already wearing a film of frost. The door opens abruptly, and after a series of joyous embraces of ugly-sweatered chests, the couple presents their gift of wine and pie. The magnetic pull of heat, smiles, and carbohydrates draws them inside for the night. As they approach the nexus of the living room, they slowly push through a cavalcade of family members, faces flush with inebriation and the radiative heat of a wood-fired stove. One of them finally reaches a table, liberally adorned with sweets and beverages. They pour two mugs of eggnog, taking care to not catch fire on the centerpiece, a gloriously over-done amalgamation of poinsettias, Christmas roses, and candles. The couple rejoins away from the social huddle of guffaws and crosstalk. They take a swig of their viscous treat, and one of them notes the mistletoe pinned on the beam above them. With a wink and smile, they participate in an age-old tradition, and their lips meet.

Not once do they stop to ponder the noxious notoriety of every plant they’ve come across. From the holly on the door to the mistletoe above their heads, they are surrounded by species with toxic reputations. How did these potential poisons come to be symbolic of a holiday celebrating life and good health? Well, that’s a good story… Continue reading “Have yourself a toxic berry Christmas”

Meet The Trumpapillar: The Venomous Caterpillar That Perfectly Mimics The Donald’s Hair

Many have wondered about exact nature of Donald Trump’s hair. Is it the world’s worst toupee? A poorly-executed elaborate comb-over? A weird, incredibly expensive weave? The world may never know. But I prefer to think it’s inspired by nature—not another human’s lovely locks, of course, but those of this animal, which some have taken to calling the Donald Trump Caterpillar or simply the Trumpapillar:

Meet the Trumpapillar. Photo Credit: Jeff Cremer

Continue reading “Meet The Trumpapillar: The Venomous Caterpillar That Perfectly Mimics The Donald’s Hair”

New Video Highlights Venomous Drugs

In the final chapter of Venomous, I explain how the deadliest animals on the planet may hold the power to save lives. Though it might seem counterintuitive, toxins aren’t really that different from cures—both specifically target some pathway in the body that is going wrong.

The therapeutic use of venoms traces back centuries to some of our oldest civilizations. That medical legacy is still with us, as the serpent wound around a staff in the symbol of the medical profession.

You can read an edited excerpt from that chapter of my book in The Wall Street Journal. But just this week, National Geographic came out with a nice little video on the topic, explaining the basics in less than two minutes:

If you want to know more about the world’s most notorious animals and how their chemical cocktails affect us, be sure to pre-order your copy of Venomous today!

Watch: How Mosquitoes Drill Into Your Flesh With Six Needles

Mosquitoes are one of my favorite venomous animals. These natural phlebotomists have efficient venoms which allow them to effortlessly violate our most precious tissue—our blood—while manipulating our immune system to remain under the radar. You can just imagine how hard that venom has to work to hide the invading mouthparts, which poke around in search of a suitable capillary, as this awesome video from KQED’s Deep Look shows:

Continue reading “Watch: How Mosquitoes Drill Into Your Flesh With Six Needles”

Attacking DNA to Save Snakebitten Limbs

The saw-scaled viper, Echis carinatus, on display in Geneva. Photo c/o Wikimedia — The saw-scaled viper, *Echis carinatus*, on display in Geneva. Photo from Wikimedia

The moment a viper’s venom enters the body, its enzymatic components set about their nefarious work. Metalloproteases begin the assault by mowing down structurally essential components of blood vessels and tissues, weakening walls and making holes that leech fluid. Capillaries hemmorrhage and the area swells while the proteases keep at their attack, taking out skeletal muscle through mechanisms poorly understood. Phospholipases join in, with their sights set on cell membranes. Some cut apart membrane lipids making lethal holes, while others seem to be just as destructive without enzymatic activity. The end result: muscle tissue dies. Hyaluronidases and serine proteases aid in the efforts, and the helpless tissue succumbs to the venom’s siege.

And that’s not even the worst part. The metalloproteases and phospholipases have other tricks up their sleeves. They don’t just fight their own war on our flesh: they enlist our own immune system to help them do it. The liberation of tumor necrosis factor and immune-stimulating cytokines by metalloproteases and the release of bioactive lipids by phospholipases cause immune cells to rush to the wound. Our body’s forces are trained to kill, usually setting their sights on bacteria and viruses. But without those clear targets, the body’s army gets confused. They can’t tell friend from foe, yet the immune cells fire anyway, blindly attacking an unseen danger. Valiant volleys act as friendly fire, adding to the death toll of innocent tissues.

Continue reading “Attacking DNA to Save Snakebitten Limbs”

Arachnophobia in the Medical Literature: Are Published “Spider Bites” Reliable?

Eight legs to cuddle with! Photo by Bryce McQuillan

If the above photo makes you cringe, you’re not alone. The fear of these beasts, called arachnophobia, is surprisingly common. Somewhere between 15 and 55 percent of people get anxious around spiders or even pictures of spiders. Even many who can stomach the sight of these eight-legged animals would be hesitant to perform the a brazen act of actually holding one—after all, everyone knows spider bites fester into giant, gaping sores which leave hideous scars.

At least, that’s what we grow up believing. In reality, though, there are some 40,000 species of spiders, only a dozen or so are actually dangerous to humans. And of those, only the venom of recluse spiders can cause the kind of tissue death (called necrosis) that we so often attribute to spider bites. Recent studies have shown that, instead, people assume the worst of innocent spiders when much more sinister species, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are to blame for their wounds.

We would hope that doctors would be more discerning—that they would be able to properly identify spider bites when they (very rarely) occur. But a new paper suggests that our trusted physicians may not be better than the rest of us. A review of clinical literature found that a whopping 78% of “spider bite” cases may be misattributed. Continue reading “Arachnophobia in the Medical Literature: Are Published “Spider Bites” Reliable?”

No, GM Mosquitoes Didn’t Start The Zika Outbreak.

A new ridiculous rumor is spreading around the internets. According to conspiracy theorists, the recent outbreak of Zika can be blamed on the British biotech company Oxitec, which some are saying even intentionally caused the disease as a form of ethnic cleansing or population control. The articles all cite a lone Redditor who proposed the connection on January 25th to the Conspiracy subreddit. “There are no biological free lunches,” says one commenter on the idea. “Releasing genetically altered species into the environment could have disastrous consequences” another added. “Maybe that’s what some entities want to happen…?”

For some reason, it’s been one of those months where random nonsense suddenly hits mainstream. Here are the facts: there’s no evidence whatsoever to support this conspiracy theory, or any of the other bizarre, anti-science claims that have popped up in the past few weeks. So let’s stop all of this right here, right now: The Earth is round, not flat (and it’s definitely not hollow). Last year was the hottest year on record, and climate change is really happening (so please just stop, Mr. Cruz). And FFS, genetically modified mosquitoes didn’t start the Zika outbreak.
Continue reading “No, GM Mosquitoes Didn’t Start The Zika Outbreak.”

Watch: Man Takes Back To Back Bites From Two Of The World’s Deadliest Snakes To Prove People Can Become Immune To Snake Venoms

Black mamba venom is among the world’s deadliest, with potent neurotoxins that can kill a person in a matter of minutes. Photo by NickEvansKZN

“A bite from the black mamba Dendroaspis polylepis is an event that poses an immediate threat to life,” explained scientists in a 2011 case report. “Given the content of neurotoxins in the snake’s venom, the mortality of envenomation reaches 100% in almost every case if ventilation is not provided in a timely manner and adequate therapy initiated.” The article goes on to give the account of a 31-year old man who arrived in the emergency room after he was bitten by one of these notorious snakes. He was sweating, his heart was racing, and his blood pressure was through the roof. He had to be intubated almost immediately as the neurotoxic venom was shutting down his diaphragm muscles, and he was struggling to breathe. Over the next two days, he was on the brink of death, requiring dose upon dose of antivenom. But, he was lucky. Fifty-eight hours after the bite, thanks to extensive medical intervention, he was finally able to breathe on his own, and he went home the next day.

Black mambas aren’t just lethal — because of the volume of paralytic venom they inject and how potent that venom is, they are strong contenders for the deadliest snake on Earth. But Tim Friede isn’t one to be scared by words like “deadly” or “lethal.” He’s been injecting himself with snake venom for more than 16 years in an attempt to build up a natural immunity to the most notorious snakes. And according to a recent TV special from Barcroft USA (video embedded below), he’s succeeding. “To prove his self-immunization theory works,” the narrator explains, “he recently took back-to-back bites from two of the world’s deadliest snakes.”

“I have a mojave rattlesnake, water cobras, PNG taipan, black mamba, and western diamond back rattlesnake, and I can take a bite from all of them,” says Friede.

Continue reading “Watch: Man Takes Back To Back Bites From Two Of The World’s Deadliest Snakes To Prove People Can Become Immune To Snake Venoms”

Venomous Frogs Are Super-Awesome, But They Are Not Going To Kill You (I Promise)

In the first chapter for my upcoming book Venomous (due out in 2016), I excitedly explain how nearly all the sundry branches of the tree of life have venomous leaves. I’m simply enthralled by the incredible diversity of venomous animals (and plants!) on this planet, from the tentacle-wielding jellies to the spiny scorpionfishes and, of course, the oft-feared and misunderstood snakes, spiders, and scorpions. But until today, there is one group that could not boast a single venomous member: the anurans, commonly known as frogs and toads. While there are plenty of poisonous ones, no one has ever found a venomous frog — that is, until now.

I know scientists are brazen, but I'm pretty sure that lead author Carlos Jared wouldn't hold this venomous Corythomantis greeningi with his bare hands if it were indeed "deadly". Photo by Carlos Jared c/o Current Biology 2015 — I know scientists are brazen, but I’m pretty sure that lead author Carlos Jared wouldn’t hold this venomous *Corythomantis greeningi* with his bare hands if it were indeed “deadly.”
Photo by Carlos Jared / Current Biology

Venomous animals are natural biochemists that take toxic to a whole new level. While it is true that venoms and poisons are both toxins, the two terms are not interchangeable. All toxins cause harm in low doses; Poisons are substances that cause such harm through ingestion, inhalation or absorption. To earn the title of venomous, on the other hand, an animal has to do more than just have toxins — they have to have a means of wounding their intended victims to force those toxins upon them. That “wounding” can be caused by any weapon of choice; jellies and other members of the phylum Cnidaria use specialized stinging cells that shoot out hollow tubes in less than a microsecond to deliver their potent venom. Snakes and spiders use fangs, the venomous fishes use spines, and the newest members of the venomous family — the frogs Aparasphenodon brunoi and Corythomantis greeningi — use their spiky heads. Continue reading “Venomous Frogs Are Super-Awesome, But They Are Not Going To Kill You (I Promise)”