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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Gland Larceny"
Fully produced report in MP3 format:
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SNEAKY SNAKE PILFERS POISON FROM TOXIC TOAD... THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. IN NEW RESEARCH OUT OF OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY, IT SEEMS THAT THERE'S AN ASIAN SNAKE THAT EATS A POISONOUS TOAD--THEN RECYCLES THE TOAD'S TOXIC VENOM, TO USE FOR ITS OWN DEFENSE: A FEAT THAT MAKES THIS NORMALLY NON-POISONOUS SNAKE, WELL, POISONOUS. YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT THIS GIVES THE SNAKE A BIG BOOST IN CONFIDENCE--AND THE RESEARCH BEARS THAT OUT: IT SHOWS THAT SNAKES WITH THE "BORROWED" POISON ARE MORE LIKELY TO STAND THEIR GROUND--READY TO SPEW THE TOAD VENOM FROM SPECIAL GLANDS IN THEIR NECK. IT'S A PRETTY COOL TRICK--BUT VERY UNCOMMON IN VERTEBRATES. SCIENTISTS TESTED POPULATIONS OF THE SNAKES ON THREE ISLANDS: ONE TEEMING WITH TOADS, ONE TOAD-FREE, AND THE THIRD WITH JUST A TAD OF TOADS. THEY WERE ABLE TO DOCUMENT THAT--WHEN THERE WERE AVAILABLE TOADS--THE WORLD BECAME A SAFER PLACE FOR THE SNAKES WITH THE VENOM IN THEM. THE DISCOVERY HIGHLIGHTS THE COMPLEXITY OF ECOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS. WE MAY YET FIND A DIFFERENT WAY TO RECYCLE ONE OF SIX COMPOUNDS FOUND IN THE SNAKES--FOR POSSIBLE USE IN TREATING HUMAN AILMENTS, SUCH AS HYPERTENSION AND RELATED BLOOD DISORDERS. A SNAKE THAT STEALS POISON FROM A TOAD: NATURE OFTEN BORROWS FROM ITSELF, BUT THIS IS A RARE CASE OF "GLAND LARCENY". THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
