Comments on: 13 Things You Should Know About Botulism

By: Heather

Heather — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:52:56 +0000

I always find it amusing that we pay doctors to inject us with the most lethal toxin known to man in the name of looking young!

Oh and heating food to 70C will denature the toxin and make it safe. Esp a good idea with those home canned beans.

By: Bambi Slayer

Bambi Slayer — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:21:45 +0000

Blood Boudin a French Creole delicacy. I make some at slaughter time every year. Consists of onion,bell pepper, galic, pig organs(heart liver pancreas kidneys) better known as griauds, milk, rice and pig blood. All mixed together and stuffed in small intestine then boiled for about 1 1/2 hrs until when poked juices runs clear. Counting the days down until Dec 23 the day we slaughter 1 for Christmas Pig Roast.

By: renderanything

renderanything — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:39:46 +0000

I haven't read this part of the book yet. Oh what other exciting and whimsical stories about deadly diseases I have to look forward to.

By: DaveL

DaveL — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:35:48 +0000

*Inserts "botulism" into random Chuck Norris meme.*

By: Ali S.

Ali S. — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:13:50 +0000

14. Botulism knows where you live! o_o

By: noni

noni — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:13:40 +0000

One can always tell by the high number of botulism infected wounds in the community that there is a bad batch of heroin going around. (They "cut" it with honey)

Disgusting!

By: Peeves

Peeves — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:15:56 +0000

@Sid. I had heard of none..I know no one who eats any of this.

By: Sid Morrison

Sid Morrison — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:09:20 +0000

@Peeves - Ever heard of blutwurst or black pudding, alternate names for pretty much the same idea? The stuff in varied form is found all over Europe.

I like botulism -- it's all-natural, so it must be good for you.

By: Woogie

Woogie — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:09:11 +0000

Holy shit number 12 is incredible!

By: Rocky Rook

Rocky Rook — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:59:50 +0000

"Microbiologists have found dormant bacterial spores that were hundreds of millions of years old. These ancient spores were able to "wake up" and start eating again."

WOW! Zombie spores.

By: MENLOHEAVYWEIGHT

MENLOHEAVYWEIGHT — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:07:10 +0000

Wow I know more about botullisim than I ever wanted to know.

By: cheechman85

cheechman85 — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:14:23 +0000

" How toxic is it? A little over a pound of botulin is enough to kill every human on Earth."
That's some pretty toxic stuff!!

By: Daniel Kim

Daniel Kim — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 13:24:35 +0000

It's not really 'clostridi-poop'. This is a large, expensive protein for the bacterium to make. Hard to say what it's real purpose is, but many different and unrelated bacteria make potent toxins of this type. The crystal structure that you display shows how the protein changes its shape when it encounters a cell. The long coils position themselves to penetrate the cell membrane and create a tunnel through which a second part of the toxin enters the cell. Once there, this portion inactivates key enzymes inside the cell. The anaerobic nature of the different Clostridium species suggests that they are very ancient bacteria whose origins pre-date the appearance of free oxygen on the earth (that is, before the evolution of green plant cells). Now, they must survive in limited micro-envirionments where oxygen is depleted, such as badly-canned food, small regions of soil or mud, and the inside of the intestine. In some ways, they are truly creatures from 'another world'.

By: Peeves

Peeves — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 09:38:25 +0000

This is the first time I've heard of blood sausage..a simple wiki search and I'm completely horrified. But then, I order all meat well done.