Evolution of Venomous Snakes
There are many types of venomous animals like the lizards,
scorpions, even 
the male duckbilled platypus. But my main focus for this blog
are snakes. There are more than 2,200 species of poisonous and venomous snakes
in the world. Snakes lost both arms and legs due to grassy and subterranean
habitats, but evolution has handed snakes the ultimate weapon: venom. How did
they evolve into venom-injecting beast and how is venom still evolving into
society today?
Snakes emerged during the Cretaceous period from lizards, but Dr Bryan Grieg Fry at the University of Melbourne believes, "that almost all snakes share a common, venomous, ancestor". Venomous snakes have similar classes of protein in their venom, suggesting that in the vast difference of habitats, snake’s venom derived from a common origin.
Further Questions:
What other types of medicine can venom be substituted in?
Did venomous and poisonous snakes also evolved from the same ancestor?
Which venom is the most potent?
Links:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/whats-your-poison-527683.html
http://www.fathom.com/course/10701017/session2.html
http://animals.howstuffworks.com/snakes/snake4.htm
http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/venanimals/ven_about.html
http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2008-03/evolution%E2%80%99s-most-effective-killer-snake-venom
http://evolutionblog.blogspot.com/2005/04/evolution-of-snake-venom.html
Snakes emerged during the Cretaceous period from lizards, but Dr Bryan Grieg Fry at the University of Melbourne believes, "that almost all snakes share a common, venomous, ancestor". Venomous snakes have similar classes of protein in their venom, suggesting that in the vast difference of habitats, snake’s venom derived from a common origin.
Venom itself also evolved, its
toxins and proteins being reborn from other proteins in tissues throughout the
snake’s body. snake-venom toxins were derived originally from proteins
in the brain, eye, lung, heart, liver, muscle, mammary gland, ovary and testis.
By tweaking the proteins from other body tissues, snakes developed a way to
create more specific and highly potent toxins.
Venom is still evolving today in medicine, having a beneficial effect on the body. For example, some poisons reduce blood pressure so quickly that the victim dies. But by changing and reproducing some components in venom, scientists can make a drug that reduces blood pressure.
Further Questions:
What other types of medicine can venom be substituted in?
Did venomous and poisonous snakes also evolved from the same ancestor?
Which venom is the most potent?
Links:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/whats-your-poison-527683.html
http://www.fathom.com/course/10701017/session2.html
http://animals.howstuffworks.com/snakes/snake4.htm
http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/venanimals/ven_about.html
http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2008-03/evolution%E2%80%99s-most-effective-killer-snake-venom
http://evolutionblog.blogspot.com/2005/04/evolution-of-snake-venom.html
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