Related topics: cells · bacteria · infectious diseases · bacterium

Non-culturable Legionella identified with sequencing

Legionnaires' disease (LD), a rare and severe type of pneumonia, is a respiratory infection caused by species of Legionella bacteria. One of the most accurate ways to diagnose LD is to perform culture on samples from a patient's ...

Tests can reveal whether an antibody can turn into a killer

What makes a soldier switch sides? That is a really good question, especially when the soldier is an antibody that is supposed to defend the body against one of the world's most dangerous snake venoms but instead ends up ...

New possibilities for the medical use of botulinun toxin A1

PSI researchers have discovered a surprising trick that could expand the possibilities for medical use of botulinun toxin A1, better known under the name Botox, as an active agent. They have developed antibody-like proteins ...

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Toxin

A toxin (Greek: τοξικόν, toxikon) is a poisonous substance produced by living cells or organisms. (Although technically man is a living organism, man-made substances created by artificial processes usually aren't considered toxins by this definition.)

For a toxic substance not produced by living organisms, "toxicant" is the more appropriate term, and "toxics" is an acceptable plural.

Toxins can be small molecules, peptides, or proteins that are capable of causing disease on contact with or absorption by body tissues 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).

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