Steve decides to make a meal for some of his friends. He uses a variety of foods to prepare the meal, including some canned mushrooms. Unfortunately, he gives his friends a mild case of botulism food poisoning
His friends report blurred vision and trouble speaking due to a flaccid paralysis of the muscle cells by the botulinum toxin. Propose a mechanism by which this toxin would inhibit muscle contraction.
If the muscles become flaccid, they cannot be stimulated to contract. The most likely cause would be that the toxin is somehow interfering with the action of acetylcholine. The toxin may be blocking acetylcholine release, or it may be blocking the binding of acetylcholine to the receptors on the muscle.
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True or False: Microorganisms dominated Earth's ecosystems for most of the planet's history
A. true B. false
The main force that moves blood throughout the system of blood vessels is
a. arterial blood pressure. b. skeletal muscle action. c. smooth muscle action. d. valve action. e. venous blood pressure.
An infectious dose is the ______
Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).
Compare and contrast conventional and costly signals. Which statement is incorrect?
a. Both signals elicit costs during either production (honest signal) or use (dishonest signal). b. Both signals are energetically costly to produce. c. The meaning of conventional signals is not intrinsically connected with the structure. d. Not communicating at all may provide more fitness than communicating with a costly signal.