Biotoxin some info from Encyclopedia nica

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toxin, or biological poison, or biotoxin (biochemistry)

Encyclopædia Britannica : Related Articles

A selection of articles discussing this topic.

Main article: toxin

any substance poisonous to an organism. The term is sometimes restricted to poisons spontaneously produced by living organisms (biotoxins). Besides the poisons produced by such microorganisms as bacteria, dinoflagellates, and algae, there are toxins from fungi (mycotoxins), higher plants (phytotoxins), and animals (zootoxins). The name phytotoxin may also refer to a substance, regardless of...

concentration in blood

Toxicology is the study of poisons—their action, detection, and the treatment of conditions they produce. Many substances are toxic only at high concentrations. Lithium, for example, is used to treat manic-depressive disorder but can be toxic at high levels. Another example is acetaminophen, which is valuable in controlling fever and discomfort but is toxic in large doses.

effect on muscle systems

Striated muscle may be damaged by a number of drugs and toxins. Some, such as intramuscular injection of the anesthetic drug bupivacaine, cause damage to the muscle fibres by disrupting the membrane and allowing calcium to enter and destroy the cell. Other drugs, such as chloroquine (an antimalarial drug) and vincristine (a medication used in the treatment of cancer), seem to disrupt the...

elimination by organisms

Toxic substances are produced by normal metabolic activities. Though some of these poisons are eliminated in their original chemical form, others, such as some nitrogenous compounds, are altered biochemically to less toxic compounds. In this manner, more of the original waste may be safely stored, or permitted to accumulate without harmful effects to the organism, until it can be eliminated. In...

human genetic disease

....toxic compounds as protection against predators or simply to gain competitive advantage. At the same time, these organisms have evolved mechanisms that make themselves immune to the effects of the toxins that they produce. Plants in particular utilize this strategy since they are rooted in place and cannot escape from predators. One-third of the dry weight of some plants can be accounted for...

intake of excess nutrients

The need for each nutrient falls within a safe or desirable range, above which there is a risk of adverse effects. Any nutrient, even water, can be toxic if taken in very large quantities. Overdoses of certain nutrients, such as iron, can cause poisoning (acute toxicity) and even death. For most nutrients, habitual excess intake poses a risk of adverse health effects (chronic toxicity)....

use in biological weapons

....diseases such as Venezuelan equine encephalitis.Fungi—pathogens that can be weaponized for use against crops to cause such diseases as rice blast, cereal rust, wheat smut, and potato blight.Toxins—poisons that can be weaponized after extraction from snakes, insects, spiders, marine organisms, plants, bacteria, fungi, and animals; an example of a toxin is ricin, which is derived...

foodstuffs:

meats

Food-poisoning microorganisms can cause health problems by either intoxication or infection. Intoxication occurs when food-poisoning microorganisms produce a toxin that triggers sickness when ingested. Several different kinds of toxins are produced by the various microorganisms. These toxins usually affect the cells lining the intestinal wall, causing vomiting and diarrhea. Microorganisms...

starchy products

....of sweet potato contain the pigment beta-carotene, convertible in the body into vitamin A. Cassava is extremely low in protein, and most varieties contain cyanide-forming compounds that make them toxic unless processed correctly.

production by:

cnidarians

All cnidarians are carnivores. Most use their cnidae and associated toxin to capture food, although none is known actually to pursue prey. Sessile polyps depend for food on organisms that come into contact with their tentacles. Some, such as colonial corals with minute polyps, feed on particulate material gathered in mucus impelled to the mouth by cilia (microscopic hairlike projections of...

frogs

The biochemical properties of amphibian skin toxins are highly varied, most being complex nitrogenous compounds. The toxically active ingredients are of various types, from local irritants to convulsants, hallucinogens, neurotoxins (nerve poisons), and vasoconstrictors (acting to narrow blood vessels). The medical importance of these ingredients is now being investigated. Although these skin...

Gymnodinium

....and animal-like species. Some species are photosynthetic; others require solid food. Some may be bioluminescent or form periodic blooms that may colour water yellow or red. A few species produce a toxin similar to that of the dinoflagellate Gonyaulax; both toxins are fatal to fish and can irritate the nose and throat of human beings if inhaled.

lepidopterans

Certain butterflies and moths possess repellent or toxic substances that provide protection against predators. Sometimes these are secured directly from the plant on which the larva feeds, such as the toxic glycosides present in high concentrations within plants eaten by milkweed butterflies (family Nymphalidae) such as the monarch. More often, the toxin is produced by the insect itself and...

poisonous animals and plants

Biotoxins can be conveniently grouped into three major categories: (1) microbial toxins, poisons produced by bacteria, blue-green algae, dinoflagellates, golden-brown algae, etc., (2) phytotoxins, poisons produced by plants, and (3) zootoxins, poisons produced by animals. The geographic distribution of poisonous organisms varies greatly; poison-producing microorganisms tend to be ubiquitous in...

sponges

....substances—account for their characteristic unpleasant odour. Many sponges (e.g., the tropical sponge Tedania ignis) exude large quantities of mucus, and some species produce toxic substances, which may cause inflammation and skin reactions in humans.

termites

The higher termites (Termitidae) may supplement or replace mandibular defenses with chemical mechanisms that utilize sticky, possibly toxic, liquids secreted by either the salivary or the frontal glands. The whitish or brownish liquid becomes rubberlike after exposure to air and entangles enemies. The frontal gland of some termites (e.g., Coptotermes and Rhinotermes) occupies a...

Magazine and Journal Articles :

Ultrasound solution to toxin pollution.

By: Raloff, Janet. Science News, 7/23/2005, Vol. 168 Issue 4, p62-62

This article describes an experimental technique for destroying life-threatening toxins produced by blooms of algae that regularly plague water supplies around the world. In many cases, the algae's toxins can survive standard treatments for purifying water. Researchers at Florida International University in Miami think they have a sound solution: ultrasound. Blasting water with 640-kilohertz ultrasound waves briefly creates high-pressure microenvironments as hot as 3,700° C, which breaks some water molecules into reactive fragments that can kill the algae. Chemist E. O'Shea and his colleagues in an upcoming Environmental Science & Technology, describe tests with a toxin produced by Microcystis aeruginosa, a blue-green alga found in Florida and elsewhere. The data indicate that the technique could destroy "a wide variety of other toxins," he says, including brevetoxins shed into the sea by infamous red-tide algae. Reading Level (Lexile): 1200;

Traveling Toxin.

By: Ehrenberg, . Science News, 4/5/2008, Vol. 173 Issue 14, p213-214

The article discusses research that suggests the neurotoxin Botox may be able to migrate through the body using nerve cells. Botox is used to treat Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis as well as for cosmetic procedures by disrupting signals from nerve cells, causing muscles to relax. Researcher Matteo Caleo's study of the behavior of botulinum toxins in laboratory rodents suggests that the toxin could travel along nerve cells and affect nerve activity. Reading Level (Lexile): 1410;

Protecting People from a Terrifying Toxin.

By: Harder, Ben. Science News, 2/4/2006, Vol. 169 Issue 5, p69-69

This article reports that in its first test in people, a vaccine against the toxin ricin appears safe and generates antibodies that are expected to be protective against the potential bioterrorism agent. The vaccine might be used to protect soldiers and first responders in advance of possible ricin exposure, says immunologist and study leader Ellen S. Vitetta of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Reading Level (Lexile): 1280;

Rock, paper, toxins.

By: Castelvecchi, e. Science News, 11/3/2007, Vol. 172 Issue 18, p278-278

The article describes an image which depicts the behavior of three virtual bacteria. The image shows the bacteria moving away from one another and competing, but none is able to overtake the others because they all have different strengths and weaknesses. One bacteria creates a toxin and the scientists then observe how the other two bacteria react.;

Eat a Killer.

By: Milius, . Science News, 10/13/2007, Vol. 172 Issue 15, p227-227

The article explains that a type of Australian snake called a floodplain death adder can recognize certain types of toxin-releasing frogs in order to avoid being poisoned after killing one. One of the frogs that this snake eats has lethal toxins in its body, but the snake is capable of recognizing which frog it is and how long it will take the toxin to degrade to a safe level. Reading Level (Lexile): 1390;

Fish Killer Caught?

By: Cunningham, Aimee. Science News, 1/20/2007, Vol. 171 Issue 3, p36-36

The article focuses on the discovery of a toxin responsible for killing fish along the mid-Atlantic coast of the U.S. in the early 1990's. The toxin is a product of a single celled alga. Scientists who worked with the alga in laboratories reported headaches and rashes. The author also describes why the toxin was so difficult to find. Reading Level (Lexile): 1210;

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