How rattlesnakes got, and lost, their venom

Millions of years ago, as the snake family tree grew new branches, the ancestor of modern rattlesnakes was endowed with a genetic arsenal of toxic weaponry, including genes for toxins that poison the blood, toxins that damage muscle and toxins that affect the nervous system, a research team headed by Sean B. Carroll at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has learned.

Read the whole article on Physorg

More from Physorg