15-06-15 Funnel-web spider venom contains powerful neurotoxins that instantly paralyze prey (usually insects). Millions of years ago, however, this potent poison was just a hormone that helped ancestors of these spiders regulate sugar metabolism, similar to...

14-12-09 Technology that can map out the genes at work in a snake or lizard's mouth has, in many cases, changed the way scientists define an animal as venomous. If oral glands show expression of some of the 20 gene families associated with venom toxins, that...

14-05-22 Venomous（有毒的） creatures usually conjure up images of hissing snakes or stinging scorpions--but for scientists Bryan Fry, et. al., an overlooked group --centipedes-- are all the rage. Centipedes（蜈蚣） prey on bugs and other pests by stinging t...

13-09-12 Spider venoms are usually toxic when injected into prey, but a new protein discovered in the venom（毒液） of Australian tarantulas（狼蛛） can also kill prey insects that consume the venom orally. The protein is strongly insecticidal to the cotton...

12-04-06 Hidden in the mud, the cone snail Conus purpurascens lies in wait for its victims. It attracts its prey, fish, with its proboscis（鼻子） , which can move like a worm, protruding from the mud. Once a fish approaches out of curiosity, the snail will...

11-04-28 Fables have long cast scorpions as bad-natured killers of hapless（倒霉的） turtles that naively agree to ferry them across rivers. Michigan State University scientists, however, see them in a different light. Ke Dong, MSU insect toxicologist and ne...