VenomousConstant Wonder • Season 2022, Episode 589
Jul 31, 2020 • 53m
How Earth’s Deadliest Creatures Mastered Biochemistry
Guest: Christie Wilcox, author of "Venomous: How Earth’s Deadliest Creatures Mastered Biochemistry"
Snakes, spiders, wasps, and scorpions seem like the stuff of nightmares. Their venomous stings and bites are enough to make us stay far away. But where does this fear come from? And how does venom work anyway? Turns out, we may owe more to these fearsome creatures than we think.
An Antidote to One of the Deadliest Venoms on Earth
Guest: Greg Neely, Associate Professor and Head, The Dr. John and Anne Chong Lab for Functional Genomics, University of Sydney
Horror movies centered on the great white shark are missing out on the ocean’s real terror: the Australian box jellyfish. Ten-foot-long carnivores with 24 eyes and about 60 tentacles each, the box jellyfish is also one of the most venomous animals on the planet. Luckily, researchers from the University of Sydney are using CRISPR to close in on an antidote.
Milking Snakes
Guest: Carl Barden, owner and director, Medtoxin Venom Laboratories and The Reptile Discovery Center
Talk about hazard pay! This guy's job is to milk venomous snakes. Be grateful, since he's in the business of saving human lives.