In July 1879, the USS Jeannette left San Francisco, headed for the north pole. No one had reached the pole yet, and scientists suspected it was ice free, with a ring of ice around it. Just two months later, though, the ship was frozen fast in the ice. It floated along for almost two years before the ice crushed it. Crewmembers then faced a long trek across sea and land that killed 20 of them -- only 13 survived.
One of the most effective treatments for a venomous bite or sting in humans is anti-venom, which is manufactured from the venom itself. But what if a creature’s venom changes over time? That’s exactly what scientists recently found in the starlet sea anemone, and it raises important questions about the way humans use venom, especially in medicine.
