Poison vs. venom: What's the difference? - Rose Eveleth
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/venom-vs-poison-what-s-the-difference-rose-eveleth Would you rather be bitten by a venomous rattlesnake or touch a poisonous dart frog? While both...
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Would you rather be bitten by a venomous snake or touch a poisonous frog? Wait, what's the difference between poison and venom, anyway? Let's say you have the misfortune to be bitten by a venomous rattlesnake. When it bites you, the snake will eject venom from little sacks behind its eyes, through its hollow fangs and into your flesh. That venom will then travel through your bloodstream and all over your body. In most cases, snake venom contains neurotoxins, proteins that can do all sorts of nasty stuff like make your muscles fire uncontrollably, burst your blood cells, and make you go completely numb. But you might get lucky! Snakes don't always decide you're worth wasting venom on. In fact, between 20 and 80% of snake bites are...
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Would you rather be bitten by a venomous snake or touch a poisonous frog? Wait, what's the difference between poison and venom, anyway? Let's say you have the misfortune to be bitten by a venomous rattlesnake. When it bites you, the snake will eject venom from little sacks behind its eyes, through its hollow fangs and into your flesh. That venom will then travel through your bloodstream and all over your body. In most cases, snake venom contains neurotoxins, proteins that can do all sorts of nasty stuff like make your muscles fire uncontrollably, burst your blood cells, and make you go completely numb. But you might get lucky! Snakes don't always decide you're worth wasting venom on. In fact, between 20 and 80% of snake bites are...
