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How venom kills – Venom 101
February 16, 2016|Videos

How venom kills – Venom 101

Venom… the word sends chills up your spine at the mere mention of it. And with good reason. Its aim is to incapacitate its victims and boy does it work a treat. What’s really interesting is that not all venoms are equal and not all work the same way. They’re as diverse as the animals that deliver it. From clotting blood, causing paralysis and destroying living cells.

It’s a fascinating world that Assoc. Professor Jamie Seymour knows a thing or ten about, after all that’s his shtick. So given that he’s a fun-loving sharing kind of guy he given us a bit of a lesson, kind a like a venom 101 of his world (which is venomology and toxinology which are tricky words to say let alone spell) showing us how they work on their victims which sometimes include the human-kind, and the results are….. all sorts of awesome! He also sets us straight us straight on the difference venom and poison, which we will now be able to use with so much confidence, the world will think he has been cloned!

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Big Mouth
July 25, 2015|Additional info

Big Mouth

Big Mouth

At first glance the stonefish doesn’t look like a speedster. They’re bulky and just sit there like a… stone. Well their body does anyway. Their mouth is another story. It’s designed to move independently of the rest of the body, which is all a part of its plan.

 

Due to its awesome camouflage and tendency to sit statue still, fish don’t see the stonefish when they swim past until it’s too late. What looks like a harmless rock or a cluster of marine algae can turn into a gaping mouth that comes out of nowhere and sucks them in whole.

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Off the scales
July 23, 2015|How It Works

Off the scales

Off the scales

One of the defining characteristics of a fish is scales, right? That’s what most people think. Someone forgot to tell that to the stonefish. They’re a very un-fish-like fish.

They look like a stone, they waddle rather than swim and they can live out of the water for over 2 hours. They also have skin not scales, layers of keratinised skin (same stuff as our fingernails).

As we know from our previous post, stonefish attract marine plants to grow on them by lathering themselves in a chemical they produce, which acts like a fertiliser. It’s all a part of their strategy to blend into their environment and let their prey come to them.

But all gardens need maintenance and the deadly one this fish grows is no different.

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World’s Deadliest Garden
July 20, 2015|Videos

World’s Deadliest Garden

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Self fertilising animal
July 19, 2015|Videos

Self fertilising animal

Self fertilising animal

Video teaser

Q. What animal lathers itself in fertiliser to attract plants?

Here’s a clue: It’s the king of camouflage, has an expandable mouth, swallows prey alive, has gills but no scales and sheds its skin, but it’s not a snake.

 

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About
The Nature of Science (TNOS) showcases scientific research using our warped sense of humour, brains trust and creativity. See behind the microscopes, beakers and re-breathers as we dig a little deeper into the research and discovery of the natural world. If you want to take a walk on the wild side dust off your lab coats and jump on board as our talented team of scientists and world-class cinematographers use time-lapse and high-speed footage sequences to showcase science and nature like never before.
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