Dec 2, 2023
Puffer fish
Some puffer fish are perfectly fine to eat. Others are among the most poisonous potential meals on Earth, thanks to their store of that now-familiar neurotoxin tetrodotoxin.
(Image credit: Stephen Frink)
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Puffer fish
Some puffer fish are perfectly fine to eat. Others are among the most poisonous potential meals on Earth, thanks to their store of that now-familiar neurotoxin tetrodotoxin.
(Image credit: Stephen Frink)
Many animals have either poison (you are poisoned if you bite it) or venom (you are envenomated if it bites you). I think they are usually not both.
Venomous snakes and insects are generally edible.
Poisonous fish, like pufferfish, generally can't harm you unless you ingest them.
Getting to The Point of The Post:
I'm thinking about the blue ringed octopus. It's certainly venomous: if its beak breaks your skin you will probably die. But that venom is tetrodotoxin, the same as pufferfish, which is commonly lethal if ingested. So I suppose, assuming the octopus contains a large amount of venom, that it is both venomous and poisonous.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/43251883
Poison
What will happen when Peter is poisoned with tetrodotoxin?
TW: Poison, attempted murder, language, paralysis
Disclaimer: I do not own anything.
@badthingshappenbingo
Well-Known and Obscure Toxins: How They Work
Well this is a morbid subject but HEY it’s almost Halloween baby!! I was super curious about what toxins actually do on a molecular level after reading about cone snails. Obviously toxins can kill you, but how?? I wanted to know the grisly details. This is not an exhaustive list, just some types of poison, venom, and other toxic substances I was curious about, so let’s get to it.
Deadly Nightshade
Where is it found? Atropa belladonna grows in Europe, North Africa and Western Asia.
How it works: speeds up your heart and generally fucks with your nervous system. Deadly nightshade contains tropane alkaloids atropine, hyoscine (scopolamine), and hyoscyamine which disrupt the nervous system’s ability to regulate activities such as heart rate, breathing and sweating. It can cause narcosis, paralysis and heart failure as a result. Yikes. But an antidote exists that can reverse these affects if administered in time.
Toxicity: the entire plant is toxic, with roots having the highest toxicity but berries posing the greatest threat to humans because of their appearance. 10-20 berries can kill an adult, and 2-4 can kill a child. Symptoms of mild poisoning include dilated pupils, sensitivity to light, loss of balance, confusion, hallucinations (wild) and convulsions. Doesn’t sound like a good time.
Do not eat the shiny attractive berries!!! (Cows and rabbits and other animals can eat it but humans, dogs and cats...NOT SO MUCH) You can also get toxins on your skin just by touching the plant but this will not kill you.
Totally fun and not morbid fact: during the Renaissance, belladonna was used by women in small quantities to dilate pupils and give a seductive appearance, and this is how it gets its name belladonna, or beautiful woman. Atropa comes from the Greek Fate Atropos who cuts the threads of mortal lives with her shears. Snip snip!
Hemlock
Where is it found? Conium maculatum grows naturally in Europe and North Africa, and has spread to North and South America, Australia and Western Asia.
How it works: stops your breathing. The flowers contain an alkaloid called coniine, which directly affects the nervous system and causes paralysis of respiratory muscles, leading to death from oxygen deprivation. Hemlock poisoning is treated by artificial ventilation for 48-72 hours until the effects wear off.
Toxicity: about 100 milligrams of coniine is fatal to an adult. That’s about 6-8 hemlock leaves, or a smaller dose of the seeds or root. Animals can also be poisoned and killed by hemlock, but luckily dangerous substances cannot be passed into the human food chain from milk or fowl. Similar to nightshade, you can get a non-lethal amount of the toxin on your skin simply from touching this plant.
Basically you’re only gonna get poisoned by this if someone puts it in your tea, because I assume you’re not gonna just go around just like...chomping on pretty flowers. Right? Right?? ok good.
Arsenic
Where is it found? arsenic is a metalloid that occurs often with sulfurs and metals. It can be present in volcanic ash and groundwater, and as a result can be found in low (acceptable) levels in plants and seafood. Good news: it is rare to find arsenic occurring at dangerous levels in nature.
How it works: in high levels, arsenic disrupts ATP production and causes organ failure due to necrotic cell death. This process can last between 2 hours to multiple days. It can also be fatal in lower doses administered over a period of time, and as such, was a popular murder weapon when it was readily available during the 1800s in England. Symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea don’t immediately alert someone that there has been an attempted murder unless maybe you’re Sherlock Holmes.
Toxicity: google probably thinks I’m a murderer and won’t tell me just how much arsenic will kill a person. COME ON, google!!! it’s for SCIENCE!
Arsenic is no longer readily available for people to just get in large quantities, so that’s a RELIEF.
Cyanide
Where is it found? cyanide is a chemical compound produced by certain algae, bacteria and fungi. It is also found in plants such as peaches, apples, apricots and bitter almonds. A type of bamboo that grows in Madagascar is so rich in cyanide that it would kill humans, but not the golden bamboo lemur for whom this bamboo is a primary source of food!!! You go girl, eat that cyanide bamboo.
How it works: for everyone who’s not a golden bamboo lemur, cyanide disrupts ATP production, affects the central nervous system and heart, and causes histotoxic hypoxia: the inability of cells to take up oxygen from the bloodstream. Antidotes can work if administered in time for lower doses of cyanide.
Toxicity: 200 milligrams of solid cyanide or a cyanide solution, or exposure to airborne cyanide of 270 parts per million is sufficient to cause death within minutes. Um, YIKES. Really, cyanide was already scary enough as a solid before nature went and made it into a gas that kills upon inhalation. DEEPLY uncool.
Murder mystery writers: slip belladona or arsenic into your literary victim’s tea. Belladonna is sweet, arsenic is tasteless, but cyanide has an acrid and bitter taste.
Fun (well, not fun) fact: if you eat 200 apple seeds (about 40 apple cores) you will receive a fatal dose of cyanide. So like, don’t do that. An apple a day keeps the doctor away and is completely safe, but 40 apples apple cores a day WILL KILL YOU
Vampire Bat Saliva
Where is it found? Vampire bats are found in the Americas.
How it works: a toxic substance called Draculin (I’m serious) in the saliva of vampire bats acts as an anticoagulant by inhibiting an enzyme involved in the coagulation pathway.
Toxicity: vampire bats are indeed venomous and toxic, but they are not at all lethal. It just sorta sucks if you’re being bitten by a vampire bat, but you’ll live. Unless that bat has rabies. Vampire bat saliva also contains an analgesic, meaning the bites are almost completely painless. SO THAT’S SOMETHING
Cobra Venom
“hello do you have a moment to hear about cell death?”
Where is it found? Many species of cobra are found throughout Africa, Southwest and Southeast Asia.
How it works: most cobra venom includes neurotoxins that cause paralysis as well as cytotoxins that cause necrosis and blood coagulation. blood coagulation can happen in minutes.
Toxicity: many types of cobra venom are treatable, but may leave disfigurement from necrosis. If this isn’t scary enough for you, just know that spitting cobras can reach 2.7 m (8.9 ft) in length and like to aim for the eyes.
But you’d still rather be bitten by a cobra than THIS deadly mofo:
Venom of the Inland Taipan
Where is it found? the inland taipan is the most venomous snake in the world and lives, YOU GUESSED IT, in Australia, ie the place where everything is designed to kill you. Evolution decided it can reach 1.8 meters (5.9 feet) with a maximum length of 2.5 meters (8.2 feet), which I think everyone can agree is a dick move on evolution’s part. Take it back, TAKE IT BACK!!!!!
How it works: the venom contains neurotoxins, hemotoxins, and myotoxins AND an enzyme to increase absorption of the venom. Basically it causes paralysis, blood coagulation and muscle damage, because one of these things wasn’t enough apparently. Antivenoms against Australian venomous snakes exist but are least effective against the venom of the inland taipan.
Toxicity: the inland taipan’s venom has a murine LD50 value of 0.025m/kg. This means there is a 50% chance that .025 milligrams per kilogram of weight will cause death. It’s bite contains enough venom to kill at least 100 adult humans. But GOOD NEWS! the inland taipan lives in such remote places that it rarely comes in contact with people. Other slightly less venomous snakes are therefore responsible for more deaths. ....So that’s...still terrifying. just don’t go into the woods in Australia FOR THE LOVE OF GOD
What’s deadlier than the deadliest snake in the world, you ask?
Tetrodotoxin
Where is it found? tetrodotoxin is found in several animals such as pufferfish, moon snails and the small but deadly Australian blue ringed octopus (DAMMIT Australia)
How it works: blocks sodium channels. This prevents normal transmission of signals between the body and brain, causing loss of sensation, paralysis and inability to breathe. Fun!!! Don’t pick up the frickin evil little octopus
Toxicity: more powerful than cyanide, that’s for sure, about a thousand times more powerful in fact. the oral median lethal dose (LD50) for mice as 334 micrograms per kilogram. Fatal pufferfish poisoning result in death in about 17 minutes. The blue-ringed octopus, however, carries enough venom to kill 26 adult humans within just a few minutes. There is no anti-venom.
What’s worse than that, you ask? Ah, you shouldn't have asked.
Conotoxin
Where is it found? Cone snails are found in the Indo-Pacific, the Cape of South Africa, the Mediterranean, and even southern California. Smaller species are not that dangerous. Larger species, however...
How it works: paralysis within minutes. cone snails have multiple harpoons to administer venom to prey (or unsuspecting humans). the harpoons deliver a venom that has HUNDREDS of different types of toxins, each targeting different nerve channels or receptors. Some cone snail venom even includes pain-reducing toxins. These pain reducing toxins can be 100 to 1,000 times more powerful than morphine. How THOUGHTFUL.
Toxicity: vastly more potent than tetrodotoxin. the oral median lethal dose (LD50) for mice is is 10 to 100 micrograms/kilogram. So like, GOOD LUCK WITH THAT LOL
Ricin
Where is it found? Ricin is obtained from the beans of the castor oil plant.
How it works: inhibits protein production and results in organ failure, respiratory failure and circulatory shock.
Toxicity: The median lethal dose (LD50) of ricin is around 22 micrograms per kilogram of body weight. If that sounds bad just wait till you hear about poison dart frogs 😭
VX
Where is it found? Nowhere in nature. VX is synthetic. It is an oily amber colored liquid in its natural form, was first developed as a pesticide and later for chemical warfare. It is considered a weapon of mass destruction and is banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993.
How it works: causes stimulation and fatigue of muscarinic and nicotinic ACh receptors, resulting in violent contractions followed by paralysis and death by asphyxiation.
Toxicity: 7 micrograms/kilogram. this is one of the most toxic synthetic substances on earth. Humans have got nothing on mother nature though...
Batrachotoxin
(This guy is called phyllobates TERRIBILIS. but is his cute little face terrible? noooo.)
Where is it found? in certain types of beetles, birds and poison dart frogs found in Central and South America.
How it works: similar to conotoxin, batrachotoxin interrupts sodium channels. The resulting migration of Na+ ions causes heart failure and paralysis.
Toxicity: The LD50 is around 2 micrograms per kilogram, meaning that an amount the size of two grains of table salt will kill you, and that this is even worse than a cone snail, Ricin, or VX. Batrachotoxin is one of the deadliest alkaloids known. No antidote exists.
Fun frog fact: this was the poison commonly used by the Embera-Wounaan for poison darts, and that’s where poison dart frogs get their name! How...cute.
Botulinum, most toxic substance in the world
Where is it found? made by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum and related species.
How it works: causes Botulism, which if untreated can result in paralysis and respiratory failure by preventing the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Botulinum is used in very very very VEEEEEEERY small amounts in Botox, in case you ever needed reasons NOT to do Botox lol.
Toxicity: the lethal dose of 1.3–2.1 nanograms per kilogram in humans. of any toxin natural or synthetic, this is the deadliest known. However!! Actual good news this time: treatments involving antitoxin therapy and intubation are very successful and mortality from Botulism is extremely low. Yay!
More good news: toxins have been instrumental in medicinal breakthroughs throughout history and continue to be vital to modern medicine. A drug for diabetes was recently synthesized from Gila monster venom: it increases the production of insulin when blood sugar levels are high. A painkiller has been developed for chronic pain patients that is derived from a component of the venom of our friend, you guessed it, the cone snail! These are just two examples of toxins being used in medicine, and a lot of research is still being done because face it: we still don’t know a lot about how our bodies work. Paralyzing agents are extremely important to our understanding of the body and the development of non-opiate non-addictive painkillers because of how they disrupt signals between nerves and the brain.
Long story short: don’t eat nightshade and stay OFF AUSTRALIAN BEACHES and you should be just fine.
Oh and your tea is getting cold ;)
There is no antivenom for a blue-ringed octopus bite. The only treatment is to be hooked up to a ventilator for 15 hours while the tetrodotoxin wears off so your diaphragm is no longer paralyzed. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://slate.com/technology/2015/06/blue-ringed-octopus-venom-causes-numbness-vomiting-suffocation-death.html
Bacteria living on the skin of some rough-skinned newts make tetrodotoxin. This paralyzing poison is also found in pufferfish.
Some newts living in the western United States are poisonous. Bacteria living on their skin make a powerful paralyzing chemical. It’s called tetrodotoxin (Teh-TROH-doh-TOX-in). These rough-skinned newts appear to borrow the poison to avoid becoming some snake’s lunch.
Scientists Say: Toxin
The toxin, known by the initials TTX, stops nerve cells from sending signals that tell muscles to move. When animals swallow the poison in low doses, it can cause a tingling or numbness. Higher amounts cause paralysis and death. Some newts host enough TTX to kill several people.
This poison is not unique to the newts. Pufferfish have it. So does the blue-ringed octopus, some crabs and starfish, not to mention certain flatworms, frogs and toads. Marine animals, such as the pufferfish don’t make the TTX. They get it from bacteria living in their tissues or by eating toxic prey.
It had been unclear how rough-skinned newts (Taricha granulosa) got their TTX. Indeed, not all members of the species have it. The amphibians don’t appear to pick up the lethal chemical through their diet. And a 2004 study had hinted that the newts didn’t host TTX-making bacteria on their skin. All of this suggested the newts might make TTX.
But TTX is not easy to make, notes Patric Vaelli. He’s a molecular biologist at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. It seemed unlikely that newts would make this poison when no other known animal can.
Vaelli led the new study while he was at Michigan State University in East Lansing. He and his team decided to double check for toxin-making bacteria on the newts’ skin. In the lab, they grew up colonies of bacteria collected from the newts’ skin. Then they screened these germs for TTX.
The researchers found four types of bacteria that make TTX. One group was Pseudomonas (Su-duh-MOH-nus). Other bacteria from this group make TTX in pufferfish, the blue-ringed octopus and sea snails. It turned out that poisonous newts had more Pseudomonas on their skin than did rough-skinned newts from Idaho that aren’t toxic.
The data offered the first known instance of TTX-making bacteria on a land animal. Vaelli’s team reported its results April 7 in eLife.
Tiny in size but deadly in might: Blue-ringed octopus
Blue-ringed octopuses are one of the deadliest sea creatures. They are known to be highly venomous, and many cases of human fatality have been reported from Australia where they are found in large numbers along the warm, shallow beaches. Their name comes from their unusual skin colouration, with wavy rings that deepen into midnight blue when alarmed. The blue ringed octopuses are reported to be shy, and only bite when provoked.
The victim is generally unaware of the bite as it is painless most of the time. Sometimes, a small laceration with no discolouration, and a tiny drop of blood is seen. The painless bite becomes the main problem as the victim unknowingly delays in asking for help. Even prolonged skin contact with the octopus may also transfer venom in small doses to a person. The effect of the venom is very quick, with initial effects seen in 5 to 10 minutes. The victim shows signs of parasthesias, numbness, progressive muscular weakness, and has difficulty in breathing and swallowing. Nausea, vomiting, and blurred vision follow, with the victim eventually becoming unable to talk.
These symptoms further progresses in severe cases to respiratory failure, and death due to cerebral anoxia. All through this time, the victim's heart continues to beat until extreme asphyxia sets in. They may even appear clinically dead with pupils fixed and dilated.
A detailed study of the venom was carried out in 1960 on Australian blue ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena maculosa). The venom is found in the saliva of these creatures. A chemical analysis of the venom revealed it to be a low molecular weight, non-protein toxin called tetrodotoxin (TTX); the same toxin is found in pufferfish which is used to make the Japanese delicacy, fugu.
The blue ringed octopus itself is not venomous, but it allows TTX-producing bacteria to reside in its salivary glands. The octopuses are not affected by TTX, as they have evolved a distinct type of sodium channel receptor that does not bind the TTX molecule.
The octopus and the bacteria share a symbiotic relationship. The bacteria colony gets safe harbour, and the octopus uses the deadly venom produced by the bacteria in capturing it's prey. One milligram of the venom is enough to cause respiratory failure in an adult human being. Not all bites transfer the same amount of venom, and so severity of a bite depends on the amount of venom that has entered into the bloodstream.
--RB.
Further reading:
http://cbsn.ws/1He5ahC
http://bit.ly/1fkFjpO
http://bit.ly/1b3uPxi
Image: http://bit.ly/1FRluRo
Reference: Caldwell, R. (2015). Death in a Pretty Package: The Blue-Ringed Octopuses. Freshwater and Marine Aquarium Magazine, 23 (3), 8-18.
Chapters: 8/9 Fandom: Prodigal Son (TV 2019) Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Gil Arroyo & Malcolm Bright, Malcolm Bright & Edrisa Tanaka, Malcolm Bright & Dani Powell, Malcolm Bright & JT Tarmel Characters: Malcolm Bright, Gil Arroyo, Edrisa Tanaka, Dani Powell, JT Tarmel, Jessica Whitly, Ainsley Whitly Additional Tags: Whump, Angst, this is dark and delicious, major feels, all the fun of major character death without all the morbid consequences, Malcolm Whump, Emotional Whump, poor gil, Poor Everyone, I'm evil, BTHB, Bad Things Happen Bingo Summary:
Malcolm fakes his death to save the team from a killer with a vendetta against him.
Ch8 is for Bad Things Happen Bingo: Poison/Venom.
@badthingshappenbingo