Tag: toxic

chemtats:

(4R,4aR,5R,6S,7S,8S,8aR,10S,12S)-2-azaniumylidene-4,6,8,12-tetrahydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)-2,3,4,4a,5,6,7,8-octahydro-1H-8a,10-methano-5,7-(epoxymethanooxy)quinazolin-10-olate (Tetrodotoxin, TTX)

A common staple of modern horror and science fiction/fantasy media are the undead human corpses known as zombies, which find their origins in Haitian folklore as the “zombi” or “zonbi” that serve as mindless drudges to the will of a sorcerer. The sorcerer or “bokor” in the traditional Vodou religion is a necromancer, who supposedly can place a living person under a spell, turning them into a zombi using a combination of deliriant drugs such as datura, and a powerful nerve agent called tetrodotoxin, in powdered form.

TTX is a highly dangerous neurotoxin that acts to block the passage of sodium ions into the neurons, preventing them from carrying nerve signals and effectively stopping the muscles from being able to move in response to nerve inputs. This paralysis extends to all voluntary muscles including the diaphragm and the muscles between the ribs, thus shutting down breathing often with fatal results.
There is no specific antidote for human use, but if the dosage is sufficiently mild and the patient survives for 24 hours after exposure, recovery is possible with little or no lasting damage.

If this looks confusing, that’s because it is. However, the modeling is accurate.

chemtats:

Hydridonitridocarbon (Hydrogen cyanide, hydrocyanic acid)

Hydrogen cyanide, also called Prussic acid, is a weakly acidic, extremely poisonous and flammable substance that has found use in industries such as gold and silver mining and electroplating, and the production of nylon and useful organic compounds. In gaseous form it is a highly effective and dangerous toxin, killing living creatures by preventing cells from processing ATP, which results in a coma with seizures, lack of breathing and heart failure. Concentrated exposure is almost always fatal, but if the dose is sufficiently low, antidotes can be administered and survival is possible, though often with significant nerve damage.

Hydrogen cyanide was tried out as a chemical weapon during World War 1, but was deemed ineffective in the field due to it requiring high concentrations to affect humans (200 to 2000 parts per million), which was made more difficult by the fact that HCN is lighter than air and so floated away from the battlefield. The body also metabolizes cyanide fairly quickly into thiocyanate, which is only 1% as toxic as cyanide, though this process and subsequent flushing of the toxin takes time and simply does not suffice for concentrations of more than 3mg per liter of blood, which is fatal.

sixpenceee:

Blue-ringed octopuses are among the deadliest animals in the sea. Although they are about the size of a golf ball, they can pose a deadly threat to humans. When the octopus is agitated, the brown patches darken dramatically, and iridescent blue rings appear and pulsate. In a bite or even skin to skin contacts, this octopus passes on a deadly venom. Within five to ten minutes, the victim begins to experience numbness, progressive muscular weakness and difficulty breathing and swallowing. Death may result because of cerebral anoxia. (Source)

Source: sixpenceee

oneapatheticwinter:

sixpenceee:

Throughout Caribbean, Central America, the northern edges of South America, and even in south Florida, there can be found a pleasant-looking beachy sort of tree, often laden with small greenish-yellow fruits that look not unlike apples.

This is the manchineel, known sometimes as the beach apple, or more accurately in Spanish-speaking countries as la manzanilla de la muerte, which translates to “the little apple of death,” or as arbol de la muerte, “tree of death.”

“Warning: all parts of manchineel are extremely poisonous. The content in this document is strictly informational. Interaction with and ingestion of any part of this tree may be lethal,” write Michael G. Andreu and Melissa H. Friedman of the University of Florida in a brief guide to the tree. 

This is not an exaggeration. The fruits, though described as sweet and tasty, are extraordinarily toxic. Fatalities are not known in modern literature, though it’s certainly possible that people have died from eating the fruit of the manchineel. “Shipwrecked sailors have been reported to have eaten manchineel fruits and, rather than dying a violent death, they had inflammations and blistering around the mouth. Other people have been diagnosed with severe stomach and intestinal issues,” says Roger Hammer, a naturalist and botanist who has written many books about the flora of Florida. (Source)

If you attempt to burn the wood, toxic fumes are released which will inflame the lungs and eyes. Sometimes people go blind from the smoke.

Source: sixpenceee