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• n  a poisonous substance produced during the metabolism and growth of certain microorganisms and some higher plant and animal species

• Researchers have known for several years that TSS is caused by a toxin produced by a common and usually harmless bacterium called Staphylococcus aureus.
• Deadpan Is Beautiful If injections of a lethal toxin can eliminate wrinkles, who cares if it also paralyzes your face?.
• After receiving the toxin orally or by pinprick, a victim first feels a tingling sensation in the fingers and lips, then dies within ten seconds of painless paralysis.

News & Articles

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• No-Swim Advisory Lifted At Lake Mead
  Lake Mead officials lifted the no-swim advisory Wednesday after no toxin producers were found in the water, according to the National Park Service. An advisory was issued June 8 at the Overton Arm after a foamy substance and 25 dead carp were found in
  June 13, 2013 - Las Vegas Review-Journal
• Protecting yourself from the sun during the summer
  CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Skin cancer is one of the most preventable forms of cancer.  But the incidence of skin cancer among young women and elderly men has risen over the last several decades.  Dr. Richard White, a skin cancer specialist at levine cancer institute, says he now considers sun exposure a "toxin" and wishes more young people viewed it that way.  he says there are several reasons young ...
  June 13, 2013 - WCNC Charlotte
• Sneads Man Convicted for Threatening to Use Biological Agents and Explosives at Federal Courthouse
  A Sneads resident has been found guilty on three counts of threatening to use of a weapon of mass destruction involving a biological agent and toxin, and a destructive device.
  June 12, 2013 - WJHG Panama City

Quotes

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• Ellen Vitetta in BBC News
  Dr Ellen Vitetta, who led the study, said: "Our major concern in this trial was safety. We have taken a very deadly toxin and genetically engineered it to be safe and to induce protective immunity in humans."
• Ralph Nader in AFP
  The FDA "has not issued any warnings to patients or doctors about the dangers of using the toxin," the group, founded by consumer campaigner and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader, said in a statement.
• Michael Otto in Science Daily (press release)
  This work represents a previously unknown example of a toxin hitchhiking on staphylococcal mobile genetic elements that are primarily in charge of transferring antibiotic resistance,says Dr. Otto.