Irukandji

A microscopic killer, the Carukia barnesi is the size of your thumbnail and has enough toxin in its' tentacles to paralyze, and in some cases kill, a person. It is the bearer of the deadly Irukandji Syndrome, to which there is no known antivenom. Only recently found offshore on the coast of Australia, the box jellyfish is only 25 mm across it's bell, and 35 mm long. They do not have eyes, but simple sensory organs to which they can see light with. C. barnesi feeds mostly on crustaceans and small fish. their tentacles are loaded with stinging cells called nematocysts which are concentrated in rings along the tentacles. These cells are like miniature harpoons and are released when it comes in contact with its' prey.
WC: 126

Tetrodotoxin

 (http://employees.csbsju.edu/hjakubowski/classes/ch331/signaltrans/pufferfish.jpg)

Tetrodotoxin is a powerful poison derived from the puffer fish which blocks conduction of nerve and muscle through a selective inhibation of sodium carrying mechanisms. It is a neurotoxin with no known antidote. It is roughly 100 times more poisonous than potassium cyanide. Originally, it was thought to be an ingredient in Haitian voodooism and would manifest zombieism in the patient, but this was later dismissed in the 1980's as the symptoms are not related.

(http://analogmedium.com/blog/2006/09/I_Walked_With_A_Zombie-2.jpg)

Laurel Wilt

 Raffaelea lauricola or more commonly known as Laurel Wilt is a fungus spread from ambrosia beetles that colonize trees.  It originated in Asia, but has recently been brought to Southeastern United States on solid wood packing material. R. lauricola is an asexual fungus that produces small canidiophores in tight clusters in the ambrosia beetles galleries. The fungus mainly feeds on members of the Lauraceae family which includes redbays, sassafras, camphors, silkbays, California bays, avocados, pondspice, and pondberries. As the ambrosia beetles settle and colonize a tree, the R. lauricola begins to infect the host tree and spreads through its' vascular system causing all water transports to be blocked so within months the host withers and dies.

To help prevent the spread of Laurel Wilt, researchers proposed that redbays be removed from a 4 to 5 km thick band surrounding the known populations of Xyleborus glabratus. They hope that this will slow the spread of R. lauricola by its vector X. glabratus.

Necrotizing fasciitis (Flesh-Eating Virus)

Necrotizing fasciitis, or more easily known as the Flesh-Eating Bacteria, is a bacteria that enters the host through a cut or scrape and begins deteriorating the tissue and often leads to death if not treated. Tissue usually becomes swollen within a few hours, the skin will  become hot and may change colors to violet and blister. This bacteria doesn't neccesarily "Eat" the flesh as it's name imposes, but rather releases toxins that cause the destruction or skin and muscle tissue.

I chose necrotizing fasciitis as my topic because it's a virus that hits home directly. In 2005 the St. Johns River had an epidemic with this same disease and we didn't know how to react to this happening. 

 

 

I herd you liek Jellyfish?

It's funny how an animals defense mechanism works; Even when the animal's very much deceased it's still just as active as it would be alive. My prime example would be a group of jellyfish i stumbled upon this recent summer at Ponte Vedra beach. My mother, brothers, and I were all enjoying a nice day at the beach as is normal for a summer day, but my brother and I decide to walk down the beach considering this particular one is accustomed to dead sea creatures and odd shells from end to end. As we walked a good 10 minutes we noticed there were a peculiarly large number of jellyfish floating to shore, we weren't sure why it was simply an observation. We picked a few of them up by their Bells to show our youngest brother knowing that touching the lappets would surely sting us if we touched it when our mom spotted a big Box jellyfish floating ashore. She rushed my youngest brother out of the water and tried her best to scoop said jellyfish out of the water and out of harm's way when we noticed the lappet was extraordinarily long. My mother, bless her heart, was too concerned with getting the jelly out of the water and didn't notice the giant tentacle she was about to step on when she felt the shocking sting hit her foot. The moral of sorts from this story is that wether alive or well past dead, a jellyfish's ability to sting is just as potent as ever.