full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Rebecca Tarvin: Why don't poisonous animals poison themselves?

Unscramble the Blue Letters


Snakes also employ the second strategy: built-in biochemical ressncatie. Rattlesnakes and other types of vipers manufacture siaepcl proteins that bind and inactivate venom components in the bolod. Meanwhile, poison dart frogs have also evolved resistance to their own toxins, but through a different mechanism. These tiny animals dneefd themselves using hundreds of bitter-tasting cumondpos called alkaloids that they accumulate from consuming small arthropods like mites and ants. One of their most pontet alkaloids is the chemical epibatidine, which binds to the same receptors in the brain as nicotine but is at least ten tiems stronger. An amount barely haevier than a grain of sugar would kill you.

Open Cloze


Snakes also employ the second strategy: built-in biochemical __________. Rattlesnakes and other types of vipers manufacture _______ proteins that bind and inactivate venom components in the _____. Meanwhile, poison dart frogs have also evolved resistance to their own toxins, but through a different mechanism. These tiny animals ______ themselves using hundreds of bitter-tasting _________ called alkaloids that they accumulate from consuming small arthropods like mites and ants. One of their most ______ alkaloids is the chemical epibatidine, which binds to the same receptors in the brain as nicotine but is at least ten _____ stronger. An amount barely _______ than a grain of sugar would kill you.

Solution


  1. compounds
  2. potent
  3. times
  4. heavier
  5. defend
  6. special
  7. blood
  8. resistance

Original Text


Snakes also employ the second strategy: built-in biochemical resistance. Rattlesnakes and other types of vipers manufacture special proteins that bind and inactivate venom components in the blood. Meanwhile, poison dart frogs have also evolved resistance to their own toxins, but through a different mechanism. These tiny animals defend themselves using hundreds of bitter-tasting compounds called alkaloids that they accumulate from consuming small arthropods like mites and ants. One of their most potent alkaloids is the chemical epibatidine, which binds to the same receptors in the brain as nicotine but is at least ten times stronger. An amount barely heavier than a grain of sugar would kill you.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
bombardier beetle 2
poison dart 2
dart frogs 2
evolved resistance 2

ngrams of length 3

collocation frequency
poison dart frogs 2

Important Words


  1. accumulate
  2. alkaloids
  3. amount
  4. animals
  5. ants
  6. arthropods
  7. barely
  8. bind
  9. binds
  10. biochemical
  11. blood
  12. brain
  13. called
  14. chemical
  15. components
  16. compounds
  17. consuming
  18. dart
  19. defend
  20. employ
  21. epibatidine
  22. evolved
  23. frogs
  24. grain
  25. heavier
  26. hundreds
  27. inactivate
  28. kill
  29. manufacture
  30. mechanism
  31. mites
  32. nicotine
  33. poison
  34. potent
  35. proteins
  36. rattlesnakes
  37. receptors
  38. resistance
  39. small
  40. snakes
  41. special
  42. stronger
  43. sugar
  44. ten
  45. times
  46. tiny
  47. toxins
  48. types
  49. venom
  50. vipers