Jellyfish, hydras, corals and sea anemones (phylum Cnidaria) are known for their venomous stinging cells, nematocytes, used for prey and defence. Here we show, however, that the potent Type I neurotoxin of the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis, Nv1, is confined to ectodermal gland cells rather than nematocytes. We demonstrate massive Nv1 secretion upon encounter with a crustacean prey. Concomi...

The system of Polish law regulates both the protection animals and humans from animals. Insofar as first direction regulations is strongly developed, popular, fashionable reflects present-day trends in environmental law, latter not popular. Both directions show signs axiological conflict. In case animals, they are treated a protected good, referring to their suffering, ability feel, having emot...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate by survey the comfort upon instillation of timolol hemihydrate compared to timolol maleate with potassium sorbate. DESIGN A prospective, multicenter, observational, non-interventional study. PARTICIPANTS One hundred and three patients of open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension who were ≥21 years old and were currently prescribed timolol hemihydrate (once or twice da...

OBJECTIVE To identify ants other than Solenopsis invicta and Solenopsis richteri reported to cause adverse reactions in humans. DATA SOURCES We conducted a literature review to identify reports of medical reactions to ants other than S. invicta and S. richteri. Our review of medical and entomological literature on stinging ants was generated from MEDLINE and FORMIS, respectively, using the ke...

Foreign body lodgement in the larynx is a rare situation. Our review of the literature revealed no living foreign body in larynx except for laryngeal leeches and anisakiasis. In this article, we report a patient with unusual laryngeal foreign body lodgement: a bee which presented with sudden odynophagia and stinging sensation in throat. The bee was detected on the laryngeal mucosa in indirect l...

Mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) in Karisoke, Rwanda, feed on the stinging nettle Laportea alatipes by means of elaborate processing skills. Byrne [e.g. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B, Biological Sciences 358:529-536, 2003] has claimed that individuals acquire these skills by means of the so-called program-level imitation, in which the overall s...