15-01-20 As predators go, cone snails are slow-moving and lack the typical fighting parts. They've made up for it by producing a vast array of fast-acting toxins that target the nervous systems of prey. A new study reveals that some cone snails add a weaponi...

14-07-01 Like human societies--think New York City--bacterial colonies have immense diversity among their inhabitants, often generated in the absence of specific selection pressures, according to a paper published ahead of print in the Journal of Bacteriolog...

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...

14-01-18 You might not think of microbes when you consider biodiversity, but it turns out that even a moderate loss of less than 5% of soil microbes may compromise（妥协，危害） some key ecosystem functions and could lead to lower degradation of toxins in th...

13-10-18 A good night's rest may literally clear the mind. Using mice, researchers showed for the first time that the space between brain cells may increase during sleep, allowing the brain to flush out（冲掉，排出） toxins that build up during waking hours....

12-09-13 A number of environmental toxins pose considerable health threats to humans, and the heavy metal cadmium（镉） (Cd) ranks high on the list. Most of us are exposed to it through plant-derived foods such as grains and vegetables. Now, new research off...

11-02-09 Bacteria often attack with toxins designed to hijack or even kill host cells. To avoid self-destruction, bacteria have ways of protecting themselves from their own toxins. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis hav...