Toxin
hideA toxin (Greek: τοξικόν, toxikon) is a poisonous substance produced by living cells or organisms. (Although technically man is a living organism, man-made substances created by artificial processes usually aren't considered toxins by this definition.)
For a toxic substance not produced by living organisms, "toxicant" is the more appropriate term, and "toxics" is an acceptable plural.
Toxins can be small molecules, peptides, or proteins that are capable of causing disease on contact with or absorption by body tissues interacting with biological macromolecules such as enzymes or cellular receptors. Toxins vary greatly in their severity, ranging from usually minor and acute (as in a bee sting) to almost immediately deadly (as in botulinum toxin).
For more information about Toxin, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with toxin
Nanoparticles used in common household items caused genetic damage in mice
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Nov 16, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (24) |
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Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles, found in everything from cosmetics to sunscreen to paint to vitamins, caused systemic genetic damage in mice, according to a comprehensive study conducted by researchers at UCLA's Jonsson ...
Nanoparticles for gene therapy improve
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Nov 06, 2009 |
5 / 5 (5) |
3
(PhysOrg.com) -- About five years ago, Professor Janet Sawicki at the Lankenau Institute in Pennsylvania read an article about nanoparticles developed by MIT's Robert Langer for gene therapy, the insertion ...
Nanoparticle-delivered 'suicide' genes slowed ovarian tumor growth (w/ Video)
Jul 30, 2009 |
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Nanoparticle delivery of diphtheria toxin-encoding DNA selectively expressed in ovarian cancer cells reduced the burden of ovarian tumors in mice, and researchers expect this therapy could be tested in humans within 18 to ...
Knockouts in human cells point to pathogenic targets
Nov 26, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Whitehead researchers have developed a new approach for genetics in human cells and used this technique to identify specific genes and proteins required for pathogens.
Trigger of deadly food toxin discovered
Oct 21, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A toxin produced by mold on nuts and grains can cause liver cancer if consumed in large quantities. UC Irvine researchers for the first time have discovered what triggers the toxin to form, ...
How Mercury Becomes Toxic In The Environment
Aug 18, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Naturally occurring organic matter in water and sediment appears to play a key role in helping microbes convert tiny particles of mercury in the environment into a form that is dangerous to ...
Genes key to staph disease severity, drug resistance found hitchhiking together
Jul 31, 2009 |
4 / 5 (2) |
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Scientists studying Staphylococcus bacteria, including methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), have discovered a potent staph toxin responsible for disease severity. They also found the gene for the toxin traveling with a geneti ...
Discovery of a mechanism controlling the fate of hematopoietic stem cells
Jul 30, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Hematopoietic stem cells are capable of manufacturing all types of blood cells. But which factors influence the production of a specific type of cell? Until now, it was thought that this was ...
How Botulism Paralyzes Nerve Cells: New Details Revealed
Jun 22, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- New structures of a botulism toxin interacting with a mimic of the nerve-cell protein it destroys suggest new ways to block this often-fatal interaction. Indeed, the mimic molecules have such ...
Australian stroke victim walks again - with help of botox
Jun 20, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (9) |
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An Australian stroke victim paralysed for more than 20 years has walked again thanks to anti-wrinkle drug botox, in a case hailed as extraordinary by his medical team.
How superbugs control their lethal weapons (w/Videos)
May 24, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- It appears that some superbugs have evolved to develop the ability to manipulate the immune system to everyone's advantage.
Researchers devise a fast and sensitive way to detect ricin
Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry
Apr 08, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
1
Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have developed a simple, accurate, and highly sensitive test to detect and quantify ricin, an extremely potent toxin with potential use as a bioterrorism ...
Researchers Warn of Bacteria Found in Desserts in Mexico
Mar 25, 2009 |
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A study to be published in the April issue of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene reports that desserts from restaurants in Mexico are likely to give patients travelers’ diarrhea, and are yet another food t ...
Cause of mussel poisoning identified
Mar 24, 2009 |
3 / 5 (1) |
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The origin of the neurotoxin azaspiracid has finally been identified after a search for more than a decade. The azaspiracid toxin group can cause severe poisoning in human consumers of mussels after being ...
MRSA study suggests strategy shift needed to develop effective therapeutics
Mar 17, 2009 |
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USA300--the major epidemic strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) causing severe infections in the United States during the past decade--inherits its destructiveness directly from a forefather strain ...
