Taro snail is a type of conch that lives in the tropical ocean and carries a shell of bright colors and exquisite patterns on its back.
The picture above is a collective photo of a taro shell, each with a small spire, which looks like a taro? So call it taro snail. The shape of the taro snail is also very similar to the chicken heart, and it also has a name called the chicken heart snail.
The shell on the back of the taro snail has a variety of patterns, and the colorful shell is very popular with collectors. However, what makes the snail famous is not the shell with a unique pattern, but the highly venom that seals the throat with blood.
Taro snail poison, the fastest venom, 50 milliseconds to make the poisoned fish stop struggling and wait to be eaten. The toxicity of taro snail venom is not inferior to its speed, and 1 mg of venom kills adults. Humans who have been stabbed by taro snails can only survive by providence, because so far, we have no antidotes that can dissolve the toxins of taro snails.
Such a terrible snail, naturally the farther away from it, the better, and there is no intersection with it to ensure safety.
Biologists who raise taro snails don't think so, but are becoming more and more interested in taro snails. Taro snail venom is a huge treasure, biologists have just walked to the door of the treasure, picked up a jewel, and made a painkiller with an analgesic effect 1,000 times stronger than morphine.
<h1>Taro snail hunting</h1>
First, let's take a look at the daily life of this poison master in the ocean, the taro snail.
More than 800 species of taro snails have been found, mainly on the beaches, rocks or between coral reefs in tropical oceans. In the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean between the most snails, China's Fujian, Guangdong coast, as well as Taiwan Island also have. The small taro snail is only 1.3 cm long, and the large taro snail can grow as long as 21.6 cm. Regardless of size, all snails are poisonous, but the strength of the toxicity is different.
The toxicity of taro snails is related to their recipes. According to the recipe, taro snails can be divided into three categories: those that eat fish, those that eat molluscs such as other conchs, and those that eat bugs. The taro snail that eats fish is the most toxic, and the taro snail that can kill people usually makes a living from fishing. The insect-eating snail is the least toxic, and being bitten by it is almost like being stung by a bee.
The venom-laden snail does not need to chase its prey, but only lurks in the shadows and waits for the prey to come to the door to give it a fatal blow.
Pictured above is the body structure of the taro snail.
The snail was buried in the sand, and a siphon protruded from the mouth of the shell to gasp for breath. When a fish was found swimming around, the snail slowly extended its long nose and approached the fish. When the proboscis reaches the vicinity of the fish, it will project a harpoon carrying venom and stab the prey. The harpoon that shoots at the prey like a dart is actually the teeth of a taro snail, which looks like a hollow needle with a barb and a needle tube filled with venom.
Once stabbed by a poisonous harpoon of a taro snail, the fish will be paralyzed in as little as 50 milliseconds. The taro snail dragged back the small fish that had stopped struggling with its long nose, stuffed it into its large mouth like a pocket, and began to enjoy a good meal. After eating the fish, the taro snail spits out the indigestible fish scales and the harpoon stuck in the fish.
Pictured above is a harpoon of a taro snail. Harpoons are disposable items that are thrown away when they are finished. If the fish is not hit while fishing, the snail will spit out the used harpoon and replace it with another one. Its harpoon bag contains more than 20 harpoons, and one of them is always filled with venom and ready to be kept at stock.
Poisonous harpoons are used not only for hunting, but also for defense. When you're at the beach and pick up the beautiful taro shells by the shoals, the taro snails hiding in the shells are likely to project a deadly harpoon at you. The harpoon thrown by the large taro snail can penetrate your gloves, wetsuit and skin, injecting venom directly into your body.
Taro snail poison paralyzes the nervous system of small fish, our nervous system is similar to that of small fish, and taro snail poison is also very effective for us. Among a group of large and small poisonous taro snails, the ground taro snail is the most poisonous king. Poison King also has another, more appropriate name called "cigarette snail", which means that after the local taro snail stabs you, you have time to smoke the last cigarette of your life before your heart stops beating.
Pictured above is poison king ground snail. The fastest venom not only easily knocks down the fish, but also easily knocks you down. Soon after you are poisoned, you will have symptoms of respiratory failure, heart stopping. Because there is no cure, at this time, you can only keep doing cardiopulmonary resuscitation for you, waiting for the toxin to slowly dissipate, in order to save your life.
But don't worry, there are very few people who have been stabbed by taro snails, and the number of recorded deaths is only 27. [Headlines • France is Bacon unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited]
<h1>Taro snail venom</h1>
The complexity of the snail venom exceeds that of other animals, and other poisons only carry one or two toxins, and the toxic works. And a drop of venom of the taro snail is mixed with hundreds, even thousands of toxins. The well-thought-out taro snail is afraid that you have resistance to some kind of toxin, and in advance you can invent all the toxins you can invent, and put it in its poison sac, there is always a suitable one for you.
Don't look at the small size of the snail, the venom sac does not contain much venom. The mixture of various toxins is enough for you, as long as 1 milligram of taro snail poison can kill people.
In addition, the toxins carried by each taro snail are different from the venom of other taro snails, and like their colorful snail shells, the venom of the taro snails is also unique and colorful. The snail population is the inventor of the animal kingdom's most popular poison masters to develop new toxins.
The toxin in the venom is a biologically active polypeptide, which refers to a compound formed by the dehydration of multiple amino acid molecules, and an active polypeptide is a toxin. At present, biologists have isolated 200 active polypeptides from a single taro snail venom, and it is expected that more than 50,000 active polypeptides can be isolated from the entire taro snail family.
When 200 taro toxins are injected into our bodies at once, they begin to show their magic. When the Venom force attacks the human body, it does not adopt the tactic of concentrated combat, but allows each toxin to exert its own unique ability, attacking different targets separately and fighting in coordination.
Depending on the target of attack, there are five categories of taro toxins: α taro toxin attacks nicotin acetylcholine receptors in nerves and muscles, δ spiro toxin attacks sodium ion channels, κ spirotoxin attacks potassium ion channels, μ spiro toxin attacks sodium ion channels in muscles, and omega spiro toxin attacks N-type voltage-dependent calcium ion channels.
The omega snail toxin in the five types of toxins is responsible for cover in the war, and its ability is to paralyze the nervous system. Omega spirotoxin attacks N-type voltage-dependent calcium ion channels, which are associated with nervous system pain sensations. Omega spirotoxin closes this ion channel, which is equivalent to closing the nerve pain, so it can paralyze the nerve and play an analgesic role.
When you are stabbed by a cigarette snail, you will not feel pain until you lose consciousness, because the omega taro snail toxin gives you a shot of painkiller.
<h1>An analgesic 1000 times stronger than morphine</h1>
When the analgesic power of omega taro toxin was cracked, it immediately ascended to the throne of human painkillers.
Dr. Olivera proposed from magic taro snails toxins to make the painkiller Ziconotide, which is 1000 times stronger than morphine.
Pictured above is magic taro snail.
Before the invention of taro snail analgesics, morphine was used as an analgesic for relieving cancer pain in cancer patients. Morphine is extracted from the poppy, and long-term use of the body will produce dependence, and after addiction, the dose must be increased to maintain the pain-relieving effect of morphine. Although morphine is an addictive drug, and injecting morphine is equivalent to drinking doves to quench thirst, it is still the painkiller of choice for cancer patients, because there is no more powerful painkiller than it.
Now cancer patients can inject taro snail analgesic agent instead of morphine, in addition to the pain-relieving effect of crushing morphine, taro snail analgesic agent will not be addictive. Powerful but not addictive toxin, omega taro snail toxin deservedly wears a painkiller crown.
The secret that taro snail analgesics don't cause the body to become dependent is that it only does one thing: closes the calcium ion channel. Until it was discovered that spironotoxin inhibits the N-type voltage-dependent calcium channel, biologists did not know that this ion channel was related to neuralgia. After learning the skills of omega taro toxin, the targeted analgesic developed to close the calcium ion channel was a great success.
The master poison maker Taro Snail invented so many toxins, each of which is the same as the omega taro snail toxin, with a precise target. In addition to being analgesics, taro toxin can also be used for the treatment of other diseases of the nervous system. For example α taro toxin is effective for Alzheimer's disease and also for quitting smoking addiction.
Tens of thousands of taro toxins, we have only unlocked a small part of the secrets, and the remaining huge treasure is still waiting for us to dig.
Omega snail toxin is the first gem given to us by the master of taro snail, and we look forward to the treasure that follows.
#This is very scientific##I'm coming to science##科普一下 #
Resources:
1：“California cone shells: cusps used as harpoons”，
http://www.asnailsodyssey.com/LEARNABOUT/MOLLUSCA/whelCali.php
2：“Venomous snails aid medical science”，BBC
3：“To Fight Opioid Addiction, Scientists See Promise in Sea Snail Venom”，National Geographic
4：
5：
6: GIF Source:
7: Image source: https://www.marinelifephotography.com/marine/mollusks/gastropods/cones/cones.htm
The author has something to say: poison poison, there is no clear dividing line between poison and medicine. The masters of poisoning in nature, including plants and animals, have taught us so many subtleties. Today begins the update of the Series of Articles on Poison Master, which is the first article: The Strongest PainKiller Toxin. France is Bacon has been afraid of snakes since childhood, and does not write snakes in the series of articles with poisonous masters.