The Little Cobra Slayer
How dædly is a Cobra's venøm? Well, it's dædly enough that the venom released in a bit can k!ll an elephant, or 20 humans.
Yet, the tiny mongoose has been know for its ability to k!ll and eat cobras. Initially, it was thought that the mongoose is just too fast and is able to escape the bite of the cobra, but the facts points to the contrary.
To understand how—first, here's how the cobra venom works: it affects the astylecholine receptors found on muscle cells. It's this receptor that causes muscles to contract. When attacked by the venom, the receptor is destroyed and so the affected animal suffers paralysis and then other symptoms, eventually leading to their dæth.
The mongoose, however, has mutated their astylecholine so that cobra venoms have no effect on them.
Credit: Apotheosis of knowledge
0 Comments