Toxin - Non-technical usage

A toxin (Gk. toxikon "(poison) for use on arrows,") is a poisonous substance produced by living cells or organisms. Toxins are nearly always proteins that are capable of causing disease on contact or absorption with body tissues by interacting with biological macromolecules such as enzymes or cellular receptors. Toxins vary greatly in their severity, ranging from usually minor and acute (as in a bee sting) to almost immediately deadly (as in botulinum toxin). Biotoxins vary greatly in purpose and mechanism, and can be hi ...

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• Toxin - Non-technical usage

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When used non-technically, the term "toxin" is often applied to any toxic substances. Toxic substances not of biological origin are more properly termed poisons. Practitioners of alternative medicine often apply the term in a non-specific manner to refer to a broad category of harmful substances claimed to cause ill health. ...

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Toxin, Toxin - Use, Toxin - Non-technical usage

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Biotoxins are used in nature for two primary reasons: Predation (spider, snake, jellyfish, wasp) Defense (poison dart frog, deadly nightshade, honeybee, wasp) Some of the more well known biotoxins include: Hemotoxin targets and destroys red bloodcells, and is transmitted through the bloodstream. Necrotoxin causes necrosis (i.e., death) in the cells it encounters and destroys all types of tissue. Necrotoxin spreads through the bloodstream, but infects all tissues. In huma ...

See also:

Toxin, Toxin - Use, Toxin - Non-technical usage

Read more here: » Toxin: Encyclopedia II - Toxin - Use