This article originally appeared in Knowable Magazine. From the brightly colored poison frogs of South America to the prehistoric-looking newts of the Western US, the world is filled with beautiful, ...

Opioids remain a mainstay of treatment for chronic and surgical pain, despite their side effects and risk for addiction and overdose. While conventional local anesthetics block pain very effectively, ...

When a pufferfish is filleted, one wrong slip of the knife can turn the seaborne delicacy deadly. Even in death, the pufferfish’s natural poison, called tetrodotoxin, is more poisonous than cyanide ...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s clinical description of tetrodotoxin is as follows: “The consumption of toxic amounts of tetrodotoxin results primarily in neurologic and ...

Tetrodotoxin is a powerful painkiller, but a non-toxic form offering extended pain relief has proved elusive. Now researchers have succeeded in delivering slow-release tetrodotoxin safely by imitating ...

A study on the neurotoxin titled "A concise synthesis of tetrodotoxin" has been published in the journal Science. Researchers from the New York University (NYU) have devised a new 22-step process for ...

From the brightly colored poison frogs of South America to the prehistoric-looking newts of the Western US, the world is filled with beautiful, deadly amphibians. Just a few milligrams of the newt’s ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. The newts of the genus Taricha come armed with a powerful neurotoxin ...

An impressive new study, led by scientists from the Boston Children's Hospital, has developed a novel method to tame one of the world's most potent toxins, tetrodotoxin, commonly found in the ...

In Japan, puffer fish is considered a delicacy, but the tickle to the taste buds comes with a tickle to the nerves: fugu contains tetrodotoxin, a strong nerve toxin. In low doses, tetrodotoxin is ...

Despite side effects and risk for addiction and overdose, opioids remain the drug of choice for chronic and surgical pain. However, the current opioid crisis has ignited a heightened urgency for the ...