How coral snakes cause excruciating pain

(via Not Exactly Rocket Science)



"MitTx is a toxin of two halves, neither of which do anything alone. When they unite, the two subunits – MitTX-a and MitTx-b – activate proteins called acid-sensing ion channels, or ASICs. These act as gates that sit on the surface of neurons. When they detect an acidic environment, they open up and let ions into the cells, causing them to fire.

ASICs can be triggered by tissue injuries, inflammation or build-ups of lactic acid, and they tell our bodies that something is wrong. The coral snake hijacks this early warning system, by producing chemicals that turbo-charge it. Bohlen and Chesler found that when MitTx is around, acidic environments trigger a much stronger response from the ASICs. As a result, some sensory neurons fire over a thousand times more strongly than they normally would, and they take far longer to return to normal."

Hagfish filmed choking sharks with slime, and actively hunting fish | Not Exactly Rocket Science | Discover Magazine

"The hagfish releases a quick-setting slime that clogs up the predator’s gills, causing it to gag, choke and flee. Scientists have known about this repulsive defence for decades, but Vincent Zintzen has finally filmed it in the wild. His videos also prove that hagfish, generally thought to be scavengers of the abyss, are also active hunters that can drag tiny fish from their burrows." (Not Exactly Rocket Science)