Venom vs. poison: What's the difference? - Rose Eveleth
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0:07 - 0:08Would you rather be bitten
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0:08 - 0:12by a venomous snake or touch a poisonous frog?
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0:12 - 0:13Wait, what's the difference
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0:13 - 0:16between poison and venom, anyway?
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0:16 - 0:17Let's say you have the misfortune
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0:17 - 0:20to be bitten by a venomous rattlesnake.
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0:20 - 0:20When it bites you,
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0:20 - 0:22the snake will eject venom
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0:22 - 0:23from little sacs behind its eyes,
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0:23 - 0:25through its hollow fangs and into your flesh.
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0:25 - 0:27That venom will then travel through your bloodstream
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0:27 - 0:28and all over your body.
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0:28 - 0:31In most cases, snake venom contains neurotoxins,
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0:31 - 0:33proteins that can do all sorts of nasty stuff
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0:33 - 0:35like make your muscles fire uncontrollably,
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0:35 - 0:37burst your blood cells,
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0:37 - 0:39and make you go completely numb.
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0:39 - 0:40But you might get lucky!
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0:40 - 0:41Snakes don't always decide
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0:41 - 0:43you're worth wasting venom on.
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0:43 - 0:44In fact, between 20 and 80% of snake bites
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0:44 - 0:46are so-called "dry bites,"
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0:46 - 0:48where the snake is just trying
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0:48 - 0:50to send a message without actually killing you.
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0:50 - 0:52You see, venom takes energy and resources
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0:52 - 0:53for the snake to make,
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0:53 - 0:56and they don't want to waste it on a warning shot.
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0:56 - 0:57When it comes to poison,
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0:57 - 0:58on the other hand,
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0:58 - 1:00there's no warning shot.
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1:00 - 1:01If you pick up a poisonous dart frog
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1:01 - 1:03to admire its beautiful colors,
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1:03 - 1:05you've already gotten deadly poison
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1:05 - 1:07all over your hands.
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1:07 - 1:08As it seeps into your skin
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1:08 - 1:09and travels through your blood,
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1:09 - 1:11the poison starts to interfere with your nerves,
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1:11 - 1:14preventing your muscles from contracting.
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1:14 - 1:16If the frog's poison reaches your heart,
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1:16 - 1:18it can cause it to stop.
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1:18 - 1:19The distinction between venom and poison
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1:19 - 1:22is purely in the method of delivery.
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1:22 - 1:24Poison has to be inhaled, ingested, or absorbed.
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1:24 - 1:27Venom has to be injected into a wound.
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1:27 - 1:29Chemically, venoms and poisons
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1:29 - 1:31are both considered toxins,
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1:31 - 1:33so a snake bite is venomous.
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1:33 - 1:36A poison dart frog is poisonous.
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1:36 - 1:38Brown recluse spiders are venomous.
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1:38 - 1:41Lionfish and pufferfish are poisonous.
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1:41 - 1:43And some compounds can be poisons in one animal
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1:43 - 1:45and venoms in another.
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1:45 - 1:49Tetrodotoxin, a chemical 10,000 times more toxic than cyanide,
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1:49 - 1:50is found in pufferfish,
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1:50 - 1:52where it makes them poisonous.
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1:52 - 1:54It's also found in the deadly blue-ringed octopus,
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1:54 - 1:56where it's a venom delivered by bite.
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1:56 - 2:00Some animals can even be both poisonous and venomous.
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2:00 - 2:02Take the Asian tiger snake, for example.
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2:02 - 2:04Not only does it have venom in its fangs
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2:04 - 2:05but it also absorbs the toxins
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2:05 - 2:07from the poisonous toads it eats,
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2:07 - 2:09and then secretes those toxins
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2:09 - 2:11from special glands on its neck,
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2:11 - 2:13rendering it poisonous, too.
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2:13 - 2:15Scientists are constantly finding new animals
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2:15 - 2:17that employ toxins in weird, interesting ways.
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2:17 - 2:19Recently, researchers discovered
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2:19 - 2:21the very first venomous crustacean.
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2:21 - 2:23Out of 70,000 species of crustaceans,
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2:23 - 2:25only this one little remipede is venomous.
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2:25 - 2:27Speleonectes tulumensis has figured out
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2:27 - 2:29how to create a cocktail of toxins
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2:29 - 2:32that it delivers through its tiny fangs.
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2:32 - 2:34Scientists aren't totally sure how this venom works yet,
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2:34 - 2:37but they think that it causes the unwitting victims' neurons
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2:37 - 2:39to fire over and over and over again
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2:39 - 2:41until it becomes paralyzed.
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2:41 - 2:43Then, the little remipede closes in,
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2:43 - 2:45dissolving away the exoskeleton of its prey
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2:45 - 2:47and sucking out the juices.
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2:47 - 2:50But poisons and venoms aren't always all bad.
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2:50 - 2:51For thousands of years, humans have looked for
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2:51 - 2:54ways to harness the power of these toxic compounds for good.
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2:54 - 2:56Today, we have all sorts of medicines
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2:56 - 2:57that come from toxins.
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2:57 - 3:00The poison from cone snails is used as a painkiller.
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3:00 - 3:02Many poisonous plants have been used
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3:02 - 3:05to treat everything from malaria to irregular heartbeats.
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3:05 - 3:06And scorpion venom might one day be used
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3:06 - 3:08to treat heart disease.
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3:08 - 3:11So, what should you do if something bites or poisons you?
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3:11 - 3:13Don't try any of the things you've seen
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3:13 - 3:15on the internet or in movies!
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3:15 - 3:17Don't try to capture and kill the animal
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3:17 - 3:18that bit you,
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3:18 - 3:21and don't use a tourniquet or knife on your wound.
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3:21 - 3:24Most importantly, don't panic!
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3:24 - 3:27Stay calm, and seek medical attention.
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3:27 - 3:28Treatment will mostly depend
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3:28 - 3:30on what species you encountered.
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3:30 - 3:31But if you forget the distinction
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3:31 - 3:33between poison and venom,
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3:33 - 3:34and tell the parademics
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3:34 - 3:36that you were poisoned by a viper,
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3:36 - 3:40they'll probably forgive you and treat you anyway.
- Title:
- Venom vs. poison: What's the difference? - Rose Eveleth
- Description:
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View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/venom-vs-poison-what-s-the-difference-rose-eveleth
Would you rather be bitten by a venomous rattlesnake or touch a poisonous dart frog? While both of these animals are capable of doing some serious damage to the human body, they deliver their dangerous toxins in different ways. Rose Eveleth sheds light on the distinction between poison and venom (and why you shouldn't treat either one like you've seen in the movies).
Lesson by Rose Eveleth, animation by TED-Ed.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 03:56
Jennifer Cody approved English subtitles for Venom vs. poison: What's the difference? - Rose Eveleth | ||
Jennifer Cody accepted English subtitles for Venom vs. poison: What's the difference? - Rose Eveleth | ||
Jennifer Cody edited English subtitles for Venom vs. poison: What's the difference? - Rose Eveleth | ||
Jennifer Cody edited English subtitles for Venom vs. poison: What's the difference? - Rose Eveleth | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for Venom vs. poison: What's the difference? - Rose Eveleth |