The attack of the snakes
A venom is a cocktail of toxic proteins that has evolved throughout the animal kingdom as a method of killing or immobilizing prey. Venom is not exclusive to snakes. Amphibians, lizards and even some mammals display this method of defense and predation. And although these lineages divided more than 300 million years ago, their venoms have a common origin. That is, there are components in human saliva that appear to come from the same gene as the venom producer in snakes!
The attack of the snakes
A venom is a cocktail of toxic proteins that has evolved throughout the animal kingdom as a method of killing or immobilizing prey. Venom is not exclusive to snakes. Amphibians, lizards and even some mammals display this method of defense and predation. And although these lineages divided more than 300 million years ago, their venoms have a common origin. That is, there are components in human saliva that appear to come from the same gene as the venom producer in snakes!