Biological Toxins

In biology, poisons/toxins are substances that cause disturbances in organisms’ life functions, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when an organism absorbs a sufficient amount of the substance.  There are all types of biological toxins and poisons all around us.  Many of which are produced in the natural world.  A good example of this is the toxins found in plants and animals.

  Usually, evolution develops these toxins as a sort of defense mechanism for the organism.  We see this in snakes all over the world.  Rattlesnakes, which are found throughout the United States, carry a very powerful toxin.  The toxin is used as a defense mechanism and to kill its prey.  While a rattlesnake hunts relatively small prey, it can easily kill animals much bigger than them, for example a human.  Plants all over the world contain poisons/toxins that can also kill humans.  Rainforest especially, contain the highest number of poisonous plants.  These plants also have a pretty substantial role throughout history.  Since the early times of human civilization, poisoning has played a role in politics.  Serving as a tool of eliminating a political enemy, hundreds of significant people have fallen victim to this.  People have also fallen victim to toxins on accident forever.  Simply eating the wrong plant can kill someone.  Sometimes this takes minutes, or sometimes the toxins accumulate over years and lead to death.  Poisons and toxins can do some pretty scary things to the body.  This ranging from not allowing blood cells to bond to oxygen, suffocating the victim, to actually rotting the tissue.  An animal we don’t talk about to often as being “poisonous” is a fish.  The puffer fish, a Japanese delicacy, has poisonous organs.  Certain types of crabs have toxic lungs.  This is to discourage other animals from eating them.  Although this has to be a learned behavior often, and the predator may not find out until it is too late.  Other animals that do not produce toxins, have found a fascinating way of using them to there advantage.  Many animals have adapted to being able to tolerate the toxin of a lower life form, be it plant or animal.  They then accumulate the toxin in their own bodies, and use it to their defense.  But it’s not just animals in nature that use these toxins to there advantage.  Humans have figured out many toxins, have a therapeutic and even healing affect.  For example, universities all around the world are looking at the possible healing effects of rattlesnake venom.  And not only that, we have even used these venoms to reverse engineer anti-venoms.  These anti-venoms have saved countless people all around the world.  And it has even gave rise to an entirely new industry, snake milking.  Snakes can be farmed for this, or milked in the wild.  Some plant toxins are being looked at for cancer research.  Reason being, researchers want to modify the toxin to target, and kill cancer cells.  This can be a much less harmful treatment than radiation methods.  Regardless if these biological toxins scare us, or excite us with potential, we still have a lot to learn about them.