Texas coral snakeWIKIMEDIA COMMONS, LA DAWSON/AUSTIN REPTILE SERVICE
The Texas coral snake's bite rarely kills, but it can cause intense, persistent pain. Delving into the mechanism underlying the reptile's vicious venom, researchers have discovered two chemicals that combine and stimulate ion channels previously thought to respond mainly to acid levels, according to a paper published today (November 16) in Nature.
“It’s a new paradigm in thinking,” said neuroscientist Kenton Swartz of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, who was not involved in the study. “There are all these interesting ion channel toxins in venom, but in this case it’s two different molecules that have to interact with each other first before they can alter the ion channel.” By studying the venom and how its toxins mediate pain pathways in the snakes’ ...
