the.com/toxin
nature's way of saying back off, written in molecules instead of words
means A poisonous substance produced by a living organism — a plant, animal, or microbe — capable of causing harm or death in another creature.
from From Greek 'toxikon,' meaning 'poison for arrows' — itself from 'toxon,' a bow. The full phrase was 'toxikon pharmakon,' the drug smeared on arrowheads, and over time the deadly smear swallowed the weapon's name. So buried inside 'toxin' is an archer drawing a bow, the poison and the projectile fused into one word.
- deadliest known
- botulinum could kill millions per gram
- dose makes poison
- water kills you in large enough amounts
- medicine flip
- Botox is purified toxin for wrinkles
- plant defense
- caffeine evolved to poison hungry insects
- snake economy
- venom is metabolically expensive, used sparingly
botulinum toxin — produced by clostridium botulinum bacteria, lethal dose ~1 nanogram per kilogram of body weight
ricin — protein from castor beans, used in 1978 assassination of bulgarian dissident georgi markov in london
tetanus toxin — tetanospasmin produced by clostridium tetani, causes muscle rigidity and death if untreated