neurotoxin
noun
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The nervous system is almost all-powerful in the body: all five senses depend on it, as do breathing, digestion, and the heart. So it's an obvious target for poisons, and neurotoxins have developed as weapons in many animals, including snakes, bees, and spiders. Some wasps use a neurotoxin to paralyze their prey so that it can be stored alive to be eaten later. Snake venom is often neurotoxic (as in cobras and coral snakes, for example), though it may instead be hemotoxic (as in rattlesnakes and coppermouths), operating on the circulatory system. Artificial neurotoxins, called nerve agents, have been developed by scientists as means of chemical warfare; luckily, few have ever been used.
Examples of neurotoxin in a Sentence
Kff Health News, The Mercury News, 18 July 2024
The southern hydrilla strain, about which much more is known after years of study, harbors an algae-like cyanobacteria that produces a neurotoxin that gets into the food chain and kills birds.
—Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 8 July 2024
Lead, a neurotoxin, leached from the city's aging pipes and into the water that flowed from the faucets, causing irreparable damage, especially in children, whose brains and bones were still developing.
—Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press, 25 Apr. 2024
The second most recent neurotoxin injectable on the market, Jeuveau, or PrabotulinumtoxinA, was approved to treat moderate to severe lines between the eyebrows.
—Danielle Cohen, Allure, 23 July 2024
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“Neurotoxin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/neurotoxin. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024.
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neurotoxin
noun
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