The Most Ancient Predatory Class Of Arthropods Essay

The poem Antaeus by Seamus Heaney claims that humankind’s connection to earth is “operative as an elixir.” To represent the importance of this connection I chose to depict the earth as a house protecting humankind. The house symbolizes the protection provided to people by the earth. The poem is an allusion, which describes the connection between humans and the earth through Antaeus, an Ancient Greek mythological figure. Antaeus was a prominent wrestler and the son of the earth goddess Gaea. Since his mother is the earth goddess he gains strength from the ground. The poem acknowledges this stating a fall to the ground causes Antaeus to “rise flushed as a rose in the morning.” This allusion demonstrates the role the earth plays in ensuring the safety and

Antivenom is an antidote for venom that counters a specific venom or venom type. It is made to treat the venom of snakes, arachnids, scorpions, and poisonous amphibians. Also called antivenin, it is effective on the majority of recipients, but only if it is administered within a small window of opportunity before the venom does too much damage to or outright kills the victim. Antivenom’s manufacturing is similar to a vaccination. A vertebrate,

The scientists believe that the venom of the Brazilian wasps could be used in the fight against cancer. The BBC reported that according to the lab tests, toxin kills cancer cells while healthy cells remain intact.

Astraspis was one of the earliest fish of all time. It lacked fins and had a poorly evolved tail, making it a horrible swimmer. Its lack of fins and related lack of movement ability would have made it an easy target for Ordovician carnivores such as eurypterids and orthocones.

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

Papio hamadryas and Theropithecus gelada are commonly referred to as hamadryas baboons and gelada baboons. These two species are both classified as Old World monkeys, meaning they share a common ancestor dating back 20 million years ago in Africa. Having a common lineage usually indicate close relatedness in terms of phylogeny. This is seen with hamadryas and geladas, they fall under the same order of classification, which is Primates, down to the same subfamily, known as cercopithecidae. Although having a common lineage allows them to share certain characteristics and behaviors, these two species of baboons still encompass divergent qualities.

Cobra venom is one of the molecules that interfere with human body functioning. The molecule hinders the interaction of body molecules such as acetylcholine - transmitted from the ends of the nerve surrounding the diaphragm muscle – with the sites of the receptors on the diaphragm

According to Klum (2001), cobras have “startling amounts of [venom].” According to Funk and Wagnalls (2014) mongoose are “renowned for attacking even… most poisonous snakes.” According to Cambell (2015), cobra can “spray venom from their fangs accurately.” According to Grolier online (2015) mongoose has “speed [and]… timing.” According to Klum (2001), cobras have “neurotoxin in copious amounts though [their] relatively small fangs.” According to Grolier Online (2015), mongoose have “thick fur”, therefore the cobra’s short teeth cannot penetrate it so the neurotoxin is worthless.

In the 1880s, Antonio Berlese, an Italian entomologist, built a system to remove small invertebrates from soil samples. His first design was larger and much more complex than the system that we now make, but it worked in much the same way. Berlese funnels are used for extracting arthropods, an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and jointed appendages (Bio 2 Book, page 684), from soil and litter samples. The earliest fossils with this particular body structure are from the Cambrian explosion (525-535 million years ago), indicating that the arthropods are at least this old. Berlese Funnels work on the principle of insects and other arthropods that normally live in soil and litter will respond negatively to light. Therefore, a light source is used to force the arthropods to move downward, where they will fall into a funnel and then into

It may be noted here that tarantula venom is currently the subject of a wide variety of scientific research. Live specimens are needed at research centers. Recent studies reveal that peptides in the venom may provide the key to discovering long-range cures or treatments for MS and heart disease in humans. Tarantula venom varies widely in chemical composition and their effects on people. Other than routine concerns over a small puncture wound, bite symptoms range from none to mild swelling and pain depending upon the individual. The most important distinction for tarantulas is they do not cause human deaths. Scorpion and bee stings are accountable for many deaths, thus are more worthy of special handling procedures and earning the label

one touch can lead to no pain but sudden death but, the frogs can protect them self from

A very significant and important year was 525 BC because it was my birth into the small town of

gliotoxin, Gliotoxin (C13H14N2O4S2) is a member of the epipolythiodioxopiperazine (ETP) class of toxins, characterized by the presence of disulfide bridge across a dioxopiperazine ring (Gardiner 2005). Biosynthesis of Gliotoxin occurs due to the condensation reaction of serine and phenylalanine amino acid which is catalysed by a nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) [ Gardiner 2005]

Venomous snakes are known as rich sources of toxins among venomous animal species. Snakes venoms are complex chemical mixtures of pharmacologically active compounds such as enzymes, peptides and proteins with specific chemical and biological activities (Ménez et al., 2006, Jiminez-Porras, 1968), in addition to non-protein components such as carbohydrates, lipids and metal ions. Snakes venoms are mostly reputed for their neurotoxic substances, which induce paralysis and death, and hemotoxic substances that have hemorrhagic effects (Greene, 1997, Jiminez-Porras, 1968). In that respect, in many parts of the world especially in tropical and subtropical countries, snakebites are considered as serious health concerns (Harrison et al. 2009). According

For our product, the main objective of preclinical trials will be to establish safety and efficacy. We will only preclinically assess Polymamba against the relevant snake venoms in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. The first step in our preclinical trials will be to evaluate how efficaciously Polymamba is able to neutralize the toxic activity of the snake venom that it is intended to act against. To determine this, we will carry out venom-neutralizing potency tests in mouse models. This test will be performed for each venom that Polymamba will be targeting. The first task in this test Is to determine the median lethal dose of venom. To establish what this dose is, five to six mice will be injected with various doses of venom through an intravenous route. After twenty-four hours, the deaths are recorded. We then determine the dose that induces death in fifty percent of the mice, also referred to as the median lethal dose, by using a non-parametric test, such as the Spearman-Karber method.