Quantcast
issue
Read articles, including Science News stories written for ages 9-14, on the SNK website.
From defense to attack molecules
View Larger Version | Some proteins in venomous creatures evolved into toxins when certain genes were duplicated. A family of molecules called beta-defensins - immune system heroes that help fight off disease-causing invaders by chopping up proteins - were repurposed as toxins in lizards and snakes (lineage shown in blue) and, independently, in platypuses (molecular lineage shown in red). Credit: W. Warren et al./Nature 2008

Follow Us
blogs & columns
multimedia
Not to miss
bookshelf