A single group of venomous animals is the sole cause of 125,000 deaths annually. As you might have guessed, this group of animals is venomous snakes. You are about to learn a lot more about venomous snakes through this project but first an explanation of where venom originated from!

Over hundreds of millions of years of evolution, poisonous and venomous animals, plants and organisms have evolved in different ecosystems around the world. This has led to over 20 million different biological warfare agents, better known as toxins.

Toxins are naturally occurring molecules that have evolved through evolution to have a harmful effect on other living organisms. The most common use of Toxins is either for attack or defense. The scientific study of these toxins is called toxinology. Toxinology is a branch of the field of toxicology, which is the scientific study of the toxicity of all substances – even those that are not toxins per se.

Find at least 3 other alternative functions of venom, besides defense and attack. Search for the information on the internet. A good place to start is on the website: Sciencenordic.com, which has published articles on the topic of venom and toxins.

Answer: Click here to learn more about the many uses and functions of venom

Toxinology has inpired the pharmaceutical industry with toxins that have been optimized by the refinement of evolution, to have one very specific function. This has resulted in a number of drugs, such as Captopril, which is used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure. The active ingredient in Captopril is inspired by the venom of Brazilian vipers and can prevent the breakdown of the peptide bradykinin in the pulmonary circulation. Bradykinin causes our blood vessels to dilate, resulting in lower blood pressure.

In addition to inspirering scientists, the treatment of toxin exposure has proven a really complex challenge to treat, especially when delivered in a lethal mixture, known as a venom.

Discuss

Is mercury a toxin or just toxic?

Theory

Below is an overview of the theory section of the course. They can be read independently or used together as part of a curriculum. For each section, there are a number of exercises that address the theory.

Cases

Exercises

Teacher’s guide

Source reference

This material was published in 2023. It is prepared by DTU’s Center for Antibody Technologies and Biotech Academy. The process is updated on an ongoing basis. All figures are made with BioRender.com.