Ein Jahresrückblick

Auf dem Weg ins Jahr 2018 ist es an der Zeit, einen Blick zurück auf einige der größten Wissenschaftsnachrichten des vergangenen Jahres zu werfen. Die diesjährigen Nachrichten enthielten giftige Frösche, Batteriebrände, Elementbildung und vieles mehr!

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White Arsenic

This graphic is the first in a planned series looking at the effects and chemistry of a range of different poisons. As such, it seemed appropriate to start with one of the most well known poisons: arsenic. Arsenic has been used by poisoners for centuries, primarily in the form of white arsenic, ...

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Cyanide

The second in the series onpoisons looks at cyanide, another notorious agent of murder.It’s played a role in genocide,in suicide pills, and is also found in small amounts in the seeds of numerous fruits. So, why is cyanide so poisonous, and why are deaths from cyanide poisoning less of a ...

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Thallium, ‘The Poisoner’s Poison’

Having already looked at arsenic and cyanide in the previous instalments in this series, our attention turns to thallium, another famed poison. Thallium perhaps doesn’t share quite the same profile as arsenic and cyanide, but despite this it’s perhaps an even more effective compound in ...

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There’s a reason that it’s strongly recommended not to pick wild mushrooms unless you’ve had training in recognising the different types; some mushrooms containing deadly toxins can look almost identical to those that are perfectly safe to eat. Of the various types of mushroom toxins, those which ...

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This one looks at the Schmidt Pain Index, developed by entomologist Dr. Justin Schmidt to rank the pain of the various insect stings and bites he experienced as part of his work.

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Spiders are the most numerous venomous animals on the planet; the number of species predicted to be in existence, 150,000, is thought to be greater than the numbers of all other venomous creatures combined. Almost all spiders, with only a few exceptions, produce venom, which serves the primary ...

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Insect venoms are complicated.Really complicated. You could be forgiven for thinking that it must be a relatively simple company of chemicals that makes up the painful sensation of a bee or wasp sting, but in fact a hugely complex mixture of all sorts of compounds – proteins, peptides, enzymes, ...

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