Toxins secreted by bacteria. Toxins are the agents which cause most of the toxicity of bacteria and are often highly toxic. Examples include the tetanus and the diptheria toxins.
Questions tagged [bacterial-toxins]
41 questions
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How to reduce the quantity of (carcinogenic) mycotoxins in oatmeal?
Like all cereals, oat is commonly (nearly systematically) contaminated by several types of mycotoxin (produced by molds) known to cause cancer{1}. Oat is one of the most infected cereals{2}. Unless the package looks or smells bad (which is unlikely,…
JinSnow
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Why does botulinum toxin seem to be more dangerous to humans than to other mammals?
Various mammals seem to get away with eating parts of carcasses that we would prefer to not even touch, and that we assume will make us sick.
Because of that, I assume botulinum toxin is more dangerous to humans than many animals.
Is that right so…
Volker Siegel
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Why do bulls-eye rashes look like they do?
People infected with Lyme Disease often present with an erythema migrans ("migrating redness") rash. Most often, these rashes are in the shape of a bulls-eye.
Rash image.
Presumably, this is a reaction that many of our bodies have to the Borrelia…
julianstanley
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Which extinction event killed the highest proportion of organisms?
The P-T extinction (a.k.a. the Great Dying) tends to be considered the worst - for example, Wikipedia states:
It is the Earth's most severe known extinction event, with up to 96% of all marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrate species…
Bertie Wheen
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Is honey in hot green tea unsafe?
I used Google to try to figure out what kind of mixture honey has with hot water, and I found several Ayurvedic sources claiming that honey in hot water is toxic.
For example:
Honey – NEVER Put It in Hot Water/Teas
5 Reasons You Should NEVER Cook…
Dmytro
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Why are O-antigens and H-antigens on (certain) bacteria called O and H?
Somehow, despite extensive searching, I cannot find an answer....
Does O stand for oxygen and H signify hydrogen?
Kurt Hikes
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Can botulinum toxin be grown or kept from denaturing in an UNWRAPPED 50 pound hay bale?
Botulinum toxin is the neurotoxin protein created when botulism spores grow. The requirements for growth and/or for keeping the toxin from denaturing would seem to be very difficult to create in bale of hay.
There are well documented incidents of…
James Jenkins
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Why/How do Cyanobacteria Produce Toxins?
I've been doing some research on the versatility of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, particularly of the genus Anabaena, and I often run into safety hazards and have to add extra steps to my procedures because of the toxins produced by the genus.…
mpprogram6771
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What really causes the toxicity of wrongly-thawed meat?
(Note: I've seen multiple related questions over at Cooking.SE, but I'm looking for a scientific explanation, not cooking advice!)
I've been researching this for a couple of hours but the more I read, the less I seem to understand the situation.…
JohnEye
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How long can C. Tetani survive in soil?
Clostridium tetani (C. tetani) is a bacterium commonly found in soil and is excreted in the faeces of many animals (both mammals and birds) and serves, by means of the exotoxin, tetanospasmin, causes the life-threatening condition tetanus.
Josh Pinto
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Do non-pathogenic organism not have PAMPs? Are there any research paper which proves that a certain microbe is non-pathogenic?
According to this
PAMPs are delivered along with additional information that can be
used by the host to distinguish pathogenic from nonpathogenic
microbes and thereby guide the ensuing innate immune
response.
Does this statement mean that…
girl101
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Eating possibly spoiled food in the fasted state - is it considered protective against the potential harm?
It is a known fact that the acidic environment in the stomach serves several purposes, such as providing suitable conditions for primary chemical digestion of food molecules and protection from certain kinds of infections which may be caused by…
Don_S
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Why does bacillus thuringiensis produce bt toxin?
Background : B.thuringiensis produces an inactive crystalline toxin during sporulation which when ingested by an insect, gets activated and causes pore formation in gut , subsequently leading to death of the insect.
Question : What is the role of…
biogirl
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Regulation of V. cholerae virulence factors
So I know that several different environmental signals, such as pH, bile, and temperature, regulate virulence gene expression in V. cholerae. Specifically, they control expression of the genes encoding the toxin co- regulated pilus (TCP) and cholera…
Soph
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What is one Botulinum toxin medical unit?
How many Botulinum toxin molecules or grams are contained in one medical unit of Botox?
Suzan Cioc
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