Science
How spitting cobra venom evolved to be a ‘defensive chemical weapon’ – Brisbane Times
New research has found the venom from spitting cobras is supercharged to cause as much pain as possible.
The team discovered the venom of all three snakes contains a compound that supercharges their venom, making it more painful when put to use.
The venom contained cytotoxins, which are found quite widely in the venom of many different snakes, but it also contained an enzyme toxin, phospholipase-A2, Professor Vetter said.
That component alone doesnt actually do anything to your pain sensors, but combined with the cytotoxins it caused a much greater pain response than the cytotoxin alone.
The UQ researchers…
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