Civil Rights
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
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THE BHP WIRE —
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Explore the people, places, events, achievements, struggles and stories that shaped our journey.
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
Innovation, patents, science, technology and world-changing contributions.
Pioneers, champions, Negro Leagues, records, activism and excellence.
Meet the people whose lives, choices and achievements shaped the journey.
Black towns, communities, institutions and places where history happened.
Moments that changed communities, movements, institutions and the nation.
In August 1908, a white mob attacked Springfield, Illinois’s Black community, destroying homes and businesses and lynching two Black men. National outrage over the violence helped spur the movement that created the NAACP the following year.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
A toxin is a naturally occurring poison[1] produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms.[2] They occur especially as proteins, often conjugated.[3] The term was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849–1919),[4] derived from toxic.
Toxins can be small molecules, peptides, or proteins that are capable of causing disease on contact with or absorption by body tissues interacting with biological macromolecules such as enzymes or cellular receptors. They vary greatly in their toxicity, ranging from usually minor (such as a bee sting) to potentially fatal even at extremely low doses (such as botulinum toxin).[5][6]
Toxins are often distinguished from other chemical agents strictly based on their biological origin.[7]
Less strict understandings embrace naturally occurring inorganic toxins, such as arsenic.[8][9][10] Other understandings embrace synthetic analogs of naturally occurring organic poisons as toxins,[11] and may[12] or may not[13] embrace naturally occurring inorganic poisons. It is important to confirm usage if a common understanding is critical.
Toxins are a subset of toxicants. The term toxicant is preferred when the poison is man-made and therefore artificial.[14] The human and scientific genetic assembly of a natural-based toxin should be considered a toxin as it is identical to its natural counterpart.[15] The debate is one of linguistic semantics.
The word toxin does not specify method of delivery (as opposed to venom, a toxin delivered via a bite, sting, etc.). Poison is a related but broader term that encompasses both toxins and toxicants; poisons may enter the body through any means - typically inhalation, ingestion, or skin absorption. Toxin, toxicant, and poison are often used interchangeably despite these subtle differences in definition. The term toxungen has also been proposed to refer to toxins that are delivered onto the body surface of another organism without an accompanying wound.[16]
A rather informal terminology of individual toxins relates them to the anatomical location where their effects are most notable:
On a broader scale, toxins may be classified as either exotoxins, excreted by an organism, or endotoxins, which are released mainly when bacteria are lysed.
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The term "biotoxin" is sometimes used to explicitly confirm the biological origin as opposed to environmental or anthropogenic origins.[17][18] Biotoxins can be classified by their mechanism of delivery as poisons (passively transferred via ingestion, inhalation, or absorption across the skin), toxungens (actively transferred to the target's surface by spitting, spraying, or smearing), or venoms (delivered through a wound generated by a bite, sting, or other such action).[16] They can also be classified by their source, such as fungal biotoxins, microbial toxins, plant biotoxins, or animal biotoxins.[19][20]
Toxins produced by microorganisms are important virulence determinants responsible for microbial pathogenicity and/or evasion of the host immune response.[21]
Biotoxins vary greatly in purpose and mechanism, and can be highly complex (the venom of the cone snail can contain over 100 unique peptides, which target specific nerve channels or receptors).[22]
Biotoxins in nature have two primary functions:
Some of the more well known types of biotoxins include:
Many living organisms employ toxins offensively or defensively. A relatively small number of toxins are known to have the potential to cause widespread sickness or casualties. They are often inexpensive and easily available, and in some cases it is possible to refine them outside the laboratory.[24] As biotoxins act quickly, and are highly toxic even at low doses, they can be more efficient than chemical agents.[24] Due to these factors, it is vital to raise awareness of the clinical symptoms of biotoxin poisoning, and to develop effective countermeasures including rapid investigation, response, and treatment.[19][25][24]
The term "environmental toxin" can sometimes explicitly include synthetic contaminants[26] such as industrial pollutants and other artificially made toxic substances. As this contradicts most formal definitions of the term "toxin", it is important to confirm what the researcher means when encountering the term outside of microbiological contexts.
Environmental toxins from food chains that may be dangerous to human health include:
In general, when scientists determine the amount of a substance that may be hazardous for humans, animals and/or the environment they determine the amount of the substance likely to trigger effects and if possible establish a safe level. In Europe, the European Food Safety Authority produced risk assessments for more than 4,000 substances in over 1,600 scientific opinions and they provide open access summaries of human health, animal health and ecological hazard assessments in their OpenFoodTox[37] database.[38][39] The OpenFoodTox database can be used to screen potential new foods for toxicity.[40]
The Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program (TEHIP)[41] at the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) maintains a comprehensive toxicology and environmental health web site that includes access to toxins-related resources produced by TEHIP and by other government agencies and organizations.[42] This web site includes links to databases, bibliographies, tutorials, and other scientific and consumer-oriented resources. TEHIP also is responsible for the Toxicology Data Network (TOXNET),[43] an integrated system of toxicology and environmental health databases that are available free of charge on the web.
TOXMAP is a Geographic Information System (GIS) that is part of TOXNET.[44] TOXMAP uses maps of the United States to help users visually explore data from the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Toxics Release Inventory and Superfund Basic Research Programs.
the term "toxin" means the toxic material or product of plants, animals, microorganisms ...or a recombinant or synthesized molecule...
arsenic, a toxic metal, may occur as a natural contaminant ... or ... as a by-product of industrial activities. If the second case is true, such toxic substances are referred to as toxicants, rather than toxins.
The Convention applies to all natural or artificially created toxins, "whatever their origin or method of production" (Article I). It thus covers toxins produced biologically, as well as those produced by chemical synthesis
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Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
A toxin is a naturally occurring poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. They occur especially as proteins, often conjugated. The term was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849–1919), derived from toxic. Toxins can be small molecules, peptides, or proteins that are capable of causing disease on contact with or absorption by body tissues interacting with biological macromolecules such as enzymes or cellular receptors. They vary greatly in their toxicity, ranging from usually minor (such as a bee sting) to potentially fatal even at extremely low doses (such as botulinum toxin).
Botulinum toxin, botulinum neurotoxin, or botox is a neurotoxic protein produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum and related species, and it is considered the deadliest known natural substance ever recorded in chemical literature. It prevents the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from axon endings at the neuromuscular junction, thus causing flaccid paralysis. The toxin causes the disease botulism. Botulinum toxin is an acetylcholine release inhibitor and a neuromuscular blocking agent. Botulinum toxin was developed as a biological agent by the Soviet, United States, and Iraqi biological weapons programs. In strongly diluted form, the toxin is also used for medical and cosmetic purposes. The seven main types of botulinum toxin are named types A to G (A, B, C1, C2, D, E, F and G). New types are occasionally found. Types A and B are capable of causing disease in humans, and are also used commercially and medically. Types C–G are less common. In 2025, the structure of the complete 14 subunit botulinum neurotoxin complex (L-PTC) was solved. Intoxication can occur naturally as a result of either wound or intestinal infection or by ingesting formed toxin in food. The estimated human median lethal dose of type A toxin is 1.3–2.1 ng/kg intravenously or intramuscularly, 10–13 ng/kg when inhaled, or 1 μg/kg when taken by mouth.
Shiga toxins are a family of related toxins with two major groups, Stx1 and Stx2, expressed by genes considered to be part of the genome of lambdoid prophages. The toxins are named after Kiyoshi Shiga, who first described the bacterial origin of dysentery caused by Shigella dysenteriae. Shiga-like toxin (SLT) is a historical term for similar or identical toxins produced by Escherichia coli. The most common sources for Shiga toxin are the bacteria S. dysenteriae and some serotypes of Escherichia coli (shigatoxigenic or STEC), which include serotypes O157:H7, and O104:H4.
Tetanus toxin (TeNT) is an extremely potent neurotoxin produced by the vegetative cell of Clostridium tetani in anaerobic conditions, causing tetanus. It has no known function for clostridia in the soil environment where they are normally encountered. It is also called spasmogenic toxin, tentoxilysin, tetanospasmin, or tetanus neurotoxin. The LD50 of this toxin has been measured to be approximately 2.5–3 ng/kg, making it second only to the related botulinum toxin (LD50 2 ng/kg) as the deadliest toxin in the world. However, these tests are conducted solely on mice, which may react to the toxin differently from humans and other animals. C. tetani also produces the exotoxin tetanolysin, a hemolysin, that causes destruction of tissues.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Mae Jemison, aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992.
