Botulinum Toxin Research Paper

DDT is a colorless, crystalline, tasteless, and almost order-less organochloride that kills plasmas membranes. Like an shell, plasma membranes singles the outside and the inside of the cell. The plasma membrane permits special materials to enter and leave the cell, such as, food, oxygen, water, etc. DDT opens up the membranes too much and causes it to leak. Two things will slip through this leak, sodium ions and potassium ions. After DDT gets into the plasma membrane, nerve impulses signals, no longer work whenever they are supposed to. Nerve impulses tell the muscles when to contract and relax. When an organism is poisoned with DDT, it dies by either convulsions (random, unrestrained contractions of the muscles) or paralysis (complete loss of muscle control).

These chemicals were ingested by animals causing the chemicals to enter the food chain. These chemicals are carried up from animal to animal and even make their way to humans causing damage genetically. These chemicals killed numerous species of animals and went on to harm humans as well. The idea that this chemical could be thought of as safe but ends of being so harmful is hard to believe, but once again shows how the ignorance of humanity gives humans a false sense of safety that is not actually in the real world.

According to Powerpoint on Select Agents and Toxins in Module 2, a select agent is a biological agent that has the potential to pose a severe threat to animal health and safety, plant health and safety, or to the safety of animal or plant products. Biosecurity is a set of procedures intended to protect humans or animals against disease or harmful biological agents, according to Module 1, Biosecurity and the Importance of Invasive Species. According to the CDC video, "History of Bioterrorism" in Module 2, bioterrorism is the use of weapons of viruses, bacteria, and other germs for an attack. Ricin is a poison found naturally in beans (Select Agents and Toxins Module 2 Powerpoint). It prevents cells from making protein. If inhaled, it can cause

(n.d.). Case Study II - Botulism - Case Study II Botulism Answer... Retrieved October 06, 2017, from http://www.coursehero.com/file/14432580/case-study-II-botolism/Caya, J. G., Agni, R., & Miller, J. E. (2004). Clostridium botulinum and the clinical laboratorian: A detailed review of botulism, including biological warfare ramifications of botulinum toxin. Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, 128(6), 653-62. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/212078078?accountid=158271Botox | Botulinum Toxin | Botox Injections | MedlinePlus. (n.d.). Retrieved October 06, 2017, from

How does the poison relate to human activity? how are humans introducing this poison to ecosystems? discuss the negative or positive impacts seen by this poison?

The deadliest neurotoxin I can find on the web is Tetanospasmin (other than botulinum which I already have learned about). I believe this is the deadliest toxin because it says that an ant weighs 1500 times more than the dose needed to kill an adult human. Two hundred nanograms is considered lethal, and that is a VERY small number. Tetanospasmin causes muscle spasms when it is found inside the body within the nervous system and it is produced by a bacterium called Clostridium Tetani. The reason it is deadly is because it binds to neurons permanently, and when it is bound it stops the neurotransmitters from being released from the neuron. A dose of Tetanospasmin is able to stop a neuron from releasing a neurotransmitter because it damages

Sarin was developed in 1930 by Nazi Germany and is still one of the most deadliest nerve agents (Alfred, March 2015). According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, Sarin is odorless, tasteless and can cause death within minutes of exposure (cdc.gov). Sarin can be released through aerosol, through water and through contaminated food, also by skin contact (cdc.gov).

Clostridium botulinum is a Gram-positive, anaerobic, slightly curved, motile, rod-shaped bacterium that is also spore-forming producing the heat-resistant endospores. The endospores it produces are very resistant to environmental stresses including heat and high acid, it can become activated in anaerobic environments, low acidity, high moisture content, and in temperatures ranging from 3°C to 43°C. It is usually found in soil and water of any region in the world. The production of botulinum toxin of this bacteria makes it pathogenic. It is a neurotoxin that causes the disease botulism, a rare but serious paralytic illness that can lead to death (Schneider et al. 2014).

Type-II toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems are a relatively ubiquitous feature of prokaryotic genomes (1), consisting of a ribonucleolytic toxin and a labile antitoxin. Under normal conditions, the toxin is silenced by pairing with its cognate antitoxin, but can impact cell physiology in several ways when the antitoxin is removed through proteolytic degradation. TA systems were first identified as assisting in plasmid maintenance via post-segregational killing (2,3), as well as in phage exclusion, where expression of the toxin sacrifices some infected cells to preserve the larger population (4). Subsequently, the identification of chromosomal TA systems led to a re-evaluation of their physiological significance, including their potential role in various stress response mechanisms (5) and stochastic persistence (particularly of pathogens) (6).

Clostridium botulinum: A group of gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria commonly found in nature. The bacteria form heat-resistant spores which allow them to survive in a dormant state until exposed to favorable conditions that support their growth. As C. botulinum grows best in anaerobic conditions, the bacteria and its spores occur in soil, bottom sediments of streams, lakes, and coastal waters, as well as in the intestinal tracts of fish and mammals, and in the gills and viscera of crabs and other shellfish. Because spores can survive for years, added to that their heat resistance, this makes them one of the most dangerous sources of poisoning in improperly cooked or processed foods.

Many plants contain cytotoxins, which are considered the most deadly compounds known. Ricin, a cytotoxin, is one of the most lethal toxins in the world. Ricin was first synthesized in 1888 by the German scientist Peter Hermann Stillmark, this toxic protein is naturally occurring in castor beans and easily purified. Purified ricin is found as a white powder when extracted from the castor bean or it can be produced as the waste product from the creation of castor oil. Ricin can enter the body through ingestion, inhalation, or injection. Ingestion of this toxic can lead to dehydration by vomiting and diarrhea or in extreme cases, hallucinations, liver and renal failure. Severe poisoning by inhalation causes fluid accumulation in the lungs leading

Weapons of mass destruction are those nuclear, biological, chemical, radiological, and high explosive weapons “that are capable of producing major destruction, mass casualties, and significant infrastructure damage” (Taylor & Swanson, 2016 P.317). The agent I choose is the biological agent of botulinum toxin. This agent can be a lethal toxin; it can cause paralysis in a person that is exposed. Once this agent is liquefied, it is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. Terrorist can fill bombs with botulinum toxins and even missiles. This agent can immobilize many citizens in a community or area; this agent can even kill

Mycotoxin is naturally occurring secondary metabolite of toxic in low concentration and low molecular weight (MW <700) (Sorriano,2007; Haschek & Voss, 2013). Several fungal species of the Alternaria genus are known producers of mycotoxins. Some of the powerful Alternaria toxins have been implicated in a variety of adverse health effects.

Symptoms determine the classification of chemical weapons of mass destruction, such as blistering and nerve agents (Porteus 2). Other forms “include: blood agents, including cyanide, arsine, cyanogen chloride, and hydrogen chloride; choking agents, including chlorine, diphosgene and phosgene; other nerve agents; and vesicants, such as distilled mustard, ethyldichloroarsine, mustard-lewisite mixture, and forms of nitrogen mustard” (Porteus 2-3). Included also are harassing agents, such as riot control chemicals and vomiting agents (Porteus 3). The primary chemical weapons are mustard gas, sarin (GB), VX, soman (GD), and tabun (Porteus 2). Skin contact, inhalation, eye contact, deployment via commercial handheld agricultural sprayers, crop dusters, and spray tanks on aircraft or ships, deployment via munitions delivered by gravity bombs, or in warheads on ballistic or cruise missiles, water and food contamination, and opening a container full of harmful chemicals in a crowded area are all delivery systems of chemical weapons of mass destruction (Porteus 3). Burning or blistering of the skin and

Poisons are substances those are most likely to cause harm to a person. It can also be defined as a substance which has the potent of causing illness or death of a living organism when introduced to the body or absorbed. It has a tendency to cause physical or chemical mutations in the body which may be curable or incurable depending on the type of poison used. It causes harm by physical or chemical changes in the human body. Poisons with high level of toxicity may be dangerous on consuming once and can also be life threatening. Few poisons which are less toxic are often used as slow poisons. Absolutely anything could be a poison, because everything is good but nothing in excess is. Poisons are those substances