10 ms·
Toxic people could become a reality, scientists researching snake venom say
- mgarfias 6y agoToxic headline is toxic.
- libria 6y agoYeah, obvious clickbait. An animal is venomous, the venom is toxic (a toxin). I wouldn't call a cobra "toxic" unless it was constantly starting flamewars on Facebook.
- dumbfoundded 6y agoApparently you haven't heard of Cobra Kai
- saurik 6y agoI mean, it would be a lot less useful in _battle_, but as a natural defense being toxic isn't that bad... as long as there have been enough of you for a long enough time and you are recognizable / memorable enough for your predator to know "not that one".
- mrfusion 6y agoHow would laws evolve to handle this?
- wincy 6y agoI’m not sure they’d even need to evolve, it’s already illegal to bite people. It probably wouldn’t even need to be made more illegal than it already is.
- mrfusion 6y agoA single bite would be deadly though. Could they force you to produce an anti-venom?
- airhead969 6y agoIt would be a murder charge if they died, so the suspect's interests are probably to comply and produce venom for anti-venom. Probably yes. Forced collection of blood samples for substance testing and cheek swabs for DNA collection.
- pasquinelli 6y agoa single bite can kill now.
- type0 6y agoIt's good to know if you ever end up in a Mad TV Playstation 3 situation.
- temp0826 6y agoI’ll try adding it when I have to update the registration for my fists as lethal weapons.
- airhead969 6y agoMy tongue is lethal, but not how you think. Edit: SMH. I end up spraying more than I say.
- anigbrowl 6y agoSome police departments already classify body parts as 'personal weapons'. I recall a case in california a few years ago where a pre-teen was mistakenly arrested over an alleged-but-not-remotely-plausible resemblance to a burglary suspect. I can't remember the exact location or details sufficiently well to look it up but I remember the bit about personal weapons as an odd fact that jumped out at me from a copy of the arrest report.
- platty 6y agoI knew a ton of toxic people in high school, can't believe the research is catching up
- colineartheta 6y agoLook at this guy, only a ton in high school. If only we could all be so luck...
- airhead969 6y agoThere are some venomous mammals. Coincidentally, there was a posting today about it earlier. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26635391 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26635391
- k__ 6y agoAren't human bites toxic for humans already?
- gruez 6y agoThey are?
- arthurcolle 6y agoYes. Mouth bacteria and viruses in human mouths are the factors. Not something I'd be super worried about in general. (That being said, I was bitten by a psycho when I was 8 and didn't die so that's cool.) https://www.mayoclinic.org/first-aid/first-aid-human-bites/basics/art-20056633#:~:text=Human%20bites%20can%20be%20as,the%20skin%20can%20become%20infected https://www.mayoclinic.org/first-aid/first-aid-human-bites/b....
- jimbob45 6y agoYeah, if you get bitten by a homeless individual (or any individual), you need to be rushed to the ER to ensure you don’t get dangerous bacteria in your bloodstream running free. Edit: there appears to be debate over my wording but just please don’t miss the lesson here: seek medical attention if bitten.
- airhead969 6y agoBruh. Poverty-shaming ain't cool.
- airhead969 6y agoWith the advent of genetic design and designer babies, I don't see how ethics alone can prevent "soldier" and "assassin" specialists from being born that have all sorts of enhancements.
- simcop2387 6y agoI think we'll be fine as long as nobody names one of them Khan Noonien Singh. But seriously, I agree, someone will do it and then it'll be another multi-armed race.
- airhead969 6y agoAnti-critters crawling into ears armor. I want a prehensile tail and feet. Maybe some gene therapy can make that happen to grow and remodel existing tissue?
- whatshisface 6y agoA literal multi-armed race.
- mc32 6y agoHow do they ensure being venomous to others while remaining immune themselves?
- etiam 6y agoStart slowly :) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20074160 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20074160
- ravenstine 6y agoWhat if that's better? Everyone could have a purpose and not need to search for it, often in futility.
- brendoelfrendo 6y agoWhat if they aren't interested in, or worse, resent their "purpose," but can't change it due to some societal and genetic pigeon-holing? That sounds worse than searching for a purpose for myself, tbh.
- simonhamp 6y agoThere are already toxic people. And they don't even need genetic manipulation to achieve it. The good news is, they weren't born that way and they can change.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- anigbrowl 6y agoThe good news is, they weren't born that way and they can change. Debatable. See https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/2/8/e1600451 https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/2/8/e1600451 and particularly the supplementary materials about age distribution. I held the same opinion as you and was quite surprised by these results.
- peterburkimsher 6y agoThat's some very interesting research! I still think that people are innately selfish, but can learn to share. I also believe that self-sacrifice is best for the greater good, leading to a more equitable society. The graphical representation of optimism, pessimism, envy, and trust is really fascinating. https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/advances/2/8/e1600451/F3.large.jpg?width=800&height=600&carousel=1 https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/advances/2/8/e160045...
- namenotrequired 6y agoThis detail intrigues me: > “...then in a few thousand years, we might encounter venomous mice.” A female mouse can give birth at the age of two and a half months. In a few thousand years, you can have some 10 000 generations. Would it really take 10 000 generations for mice to become venomous?
- dumbfoundded 6y agoI don't think there's a good enough understanding of genetics to know how many generations. I'm guessing the estimate of a few thousand years was a complete guess. Many things impact the timing and these systems are chaotic. Even selective breeding is fairly uncertain. I don't know if geneticists could predict how many generations it would take if we selectively breed gray wolves to look like pugs.
- dheera 6y agoThis assumes mice would gain an evolutionary advantage by being venomous. Mice survive as a species by reproducing fast and hiding, not by biting other animals to teach them a lesson. In order to exploit venom's potential they would need to undo their risk-averse behavior around other animals, which may not be in their best interest as a species.
- namenotrequired 6y agoThe article explicitly states this assumption in the same sentence that I quoted a section from.
- sanatgersappa 6y agoBeen there, done that https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visha_Kanya https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visha_Kanya
- King-Aaron 6y agoHere I was listening to a Warhammer 40k podcast about the Astartes and how they have venom glands, and I was thinking "man this is some really bad fan fiction nonsense" And now ten minutes later I see this
- giardini 6y agoI, For One, Welcome Our New Venomous Overlords! But who could be more venomous than Cesare Borgia and the Borgia family whom reportedly had rings for poisoning (and assassinating) their enemies? Attending social functions has, in some past eras, been a wholly more perilous game than today, even with Covid.