title: Analysis of a cone snail's killer cocktail--the milked venom of Conus geographus.
abstract: "Snails can kill" is a statement that receives much disbelief. Yet the venom from Conus geographus, as delivered by a disposable hypodermic-like needle, has indeed killed many unsuspecting human victims. Our understanding of their milked venom the essence of these fatalities, is in itself non-existent. Here, we present the molecular mass analysis of the milked venom of C. geographus, providing the first insight into the composition of its deadly cocktail.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. jbingham@hawaii.edu
authors.forename: Jon-Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Bingham
authors.forename: Margaret R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Joycelyn B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Chun
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D052078:Conus Snail / Q000737:chemistry*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D008978:Mollusk Venoms / Q000032:analysis*; D013045:Species Specificity; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization
chemical_list: D008978:Mollusk Venoms