<p><br>
My name is Zoltan Takacs, and my research focuses on finding novel toxins that can be used to treat diseases. Today, 20 major medicines are derived from animal venoms. For example, two of the three medicines of choice used for the most lethal types of heart attack in the U.S. come from snake venom. Yet there are 20 million toxins in animal venoms that remain unexplored. From the snakes and other venomous creatures we collect, I take small tissue samples that contain the genetic blueprint for the toxin. Back in the lab, the toxins can be re-created in bacteria and screened for potential drug hits by our “designer toxin" library technology.</p>
I Am Zoltan Takacs
My name is Zoltan Takacs, and my research focuses on finding novel toxins that can be used to treat diseases. Today, 20 major medicines are derived from animal venoms. For example, two of the three medicines of choice used for the most lethal types of heart attack in the U.S. come from snake venom. Yet there are 20 million toxins in animal venoms that remain unexplored. From the snakes and other venomous creatures we collect, I take small tissue samples that contain the genetic blueprint for the toxin. Back in the lab, the toxins can be re-created in bacteria and screened for potential drug hits by our “designer toxin" library technology.
The most ancient galaxies in the universe are coming into view
The James Webb Space Telescope is discovering distant clusters of stars that formed surprisingly early—presenting new mysteries about how the universe evolved.
Obsessed with a treasure city, conquistador Francisco Pizarro captured the Inca emperor Atahualpa. To spare his life, the emperor offered up the largest cache of gold the Spanish ever acquired in the Americas.
