Poisons

A new study has found that nearly half of all bald and golden eagles in the USA suffer from chronic and/or acute lead poisoning, which the research team believes is the result of these birds scavenging the remains of animals shot with lead bullets.

Scientists have discovered five previously unknown species of listeria, a pathogenic bacteria known to cause food poisoning. One species was found to behave in ways not seen before, resulting in the calls for changes to food safety regulations.

Scientists have used the CRISPR gene-editing tool to give fruit flies a new evolutionary advantage – the ability to eat poison and store it in their bodies.

Cockroaches have been known to develop resistances to individual insecticides for decades, but new research has shown that they’re also able to rapidly develop cross-resistance, even to chemicals that they’ve never been directly exposed to.

A new study has developed a novel method to tame one of the world’s most potent toxins, tetrodotoxin, commonly found in the pufferfish. The research demonstrates a way to control the spread of the toxin and harness it into a local anesthetic that can numb targeted regions for up to three days.

​Although many of us may balk at the thought of drinking arsenic, the toxic chemical does occur naturally in the drinking water of some regions – and its levels definitely need to be monitored. An inexpensive new device allows people in developing countries to do so, and it works with a smartphone.

The mbira is an African musical instrument that has been around in one form or another for at least 3,000 years. Now, however, scientists have developed a new version that – when combined with a smartphone – can detect toxic substances and possibly even counterfeit medication.

A team of researchers led by Ayusman Sen of Pennsylvania State University has developed a nanobot that can not only neutralize nerve agents, but also pump out an antidote at the same time. Based on a self-propelled enzyme molecule, the new technology also has wider promise as a drug delivery system.

MacGyver is alive and well and living in Austin Texas, where researchers have come up with a simple and affordable chemical weapons detector, made out of an iPhone, a UV lamp, a standard 96-well test plate and … a bunch of Lego bricks. ​

UK Prime Minister Theresa May has told parliament that a military-grade nerve agent was used in an attack on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal. May says the substance used belongs to the Novichok group of nerve agents, but what are Nivochok agents and what do they do?

​How is it that some frogs are able to flush toxins through their bodies that poison would-be predators without causing any harm to themselves? Scientists have pinpointed the mechanism that enables some types of frog to dodge the danger.

Current snake antivenom might not be saving lives as efficiently as it could, given that they’re difficult and expensive to produce, distribute and administer. Now, researchers have developed a synthetic alternative with a long shelf-life that can neutralize venom from several species of snakes.