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Poison is a related but broader term that encompasses both toxins and toxicants; poisons may enter the body through any means - typically inhalation, ingestion, or skin absorption. Toxin, toxicant, and poison are often used interchangeably despite these subtle differences in definition.
These toxins are produced by Vibrio species of bacteria and like to accumulate in marine life such as the pufferfish. These toxins are produced when Vibrio bacteria are stressed by changes in temperature and salinity of environment which leads towards production of toxins. The main hazard towards humans is during consumption of contaminated ...
Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. [1] Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a substructure of the organism, such as a cell (cytotoxicity) or an organ such as the liver (hepatotoxicity).
Medicinal fields (particularly veterinary medicine) and zoology often distinguish poisons from toxins and venoms. Both poisons and venoms are toxins, which are toxicants produced by organisms in nature. [6] [7] The difference between venom and poison is the delivery method of the toxin. [6]
A toxicologist working in a lab (United States, 2008)Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms [1] and the practice of diagnosing and treating exposures to toxins and toxicants.
As venomous organisms often use their neurotoxins to subdue a predator or prey very rapidly, toxins have evolved to become highly specific to their target channels such that the toxin does not readily bind other targets [29] (see Ion Channel toxins). As such, neurotoxins provide an effective means by which certain elements of the nervous system ...
Some animal species use bioaccumulation as a mode of defense: by consuming toxic plants or animal prey, an animal may accumulate the toxin, which then presents a deterrent to a potential predator. One example is the tobacco hornworm, which concentrates nicotine to a toxic level in its body as it consumes tobacco plants. Poisoning of small ...
Some bacteria deliver toxins directly from their cytoplasm to the cytoplasm of the target cell through a needle-like structure. The effector proteins injected by the type III secretion apparatus of Yersinia into target cells are one example. Another group of intracellular toxins is the AB toxins.