Scientist deliberately subjects himself to the
world’s most painful stingers
By Australian Geographic, adapted by Newsela staff on 10.08.23
Word Count 799
Level 910L
Tarantula hawk wasps have one of the most painful stings. In the name of science, a scientist allowed himself to be stung by insects. Photo:
Steve Trewhella/Alamy Photo: Steve. Trewhella/Alamy
Sam Robinson thinks pain is fascinating.
"I'm interested in what the chemicals are behind pain and how
they interact with our bodies to create that pain," he says. A
chemical is a substance that has a defined composition and
properties used to identify it. Chemicals can occur naturally or
be made in a lab.
Robinson is a molecular biologist at the University of
Queensland. Molecular biology is a branch of biology. It
investigates the structure and function of large molecules of
living matter. Robinson has earned a reputation for being stung
by the world's most painful insects and plants. He gets stung on
purpose.
Image 1. Some insects can extend and
retract their stingers. Graphic: Zia
Abraham/Newsela staff
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.
"I'm genuinely interested," he says. "I wonder, 'What does that sting feel like?' and there's often no
information on that."
Observations May Lead To New Drugs
Robinson rates each sting using a pain scale developed by the late American entomologist Justin
Schmidt. Entomologists are scientists who study insects.
While Schmidt's stings weren't intentional, they were inevitable.
"He worked with these insects for 40 years," says Robinson. "So if you're working with them for
that amount of time, you get stung, there's no way around it!"
Robinson records his experiences with a notebook and stopwatch.
"I'm writing down the intensity of the pain and how long it lasts, but also the type of pain and
other symptoms, like inflammation," he says. Inflammation is the immune system's response to an
irritant, such as a germ, or a foreign object like a stinger.
Robinson's observations have the potential to lead to significant
medical applications. For instance, he hopes his findings can
help scientists discover new types of pain medications.
"By finding new things and new targets in our own bodies, in
terms of our pain-sensing neurons, we can potentially develop a
new class of drugs to target that," Robinson says. A neuron is a
type of cell. It sends and receives messages from the body to the
brain and back again.
Image 2. After a sting, toxins in the venom
cause our bodies to react with pain and
New medications may be a ways off. But Robinson and his
swelling. Graphic: Zia Abraham/Newsela
colleagues have already had scientific breakthroughs. In May
staff
2023, Robinson and his team revealed that ants inflict pain with
neurotoxins. Neurotoxins are poisonous substances. They act
on the victim's nervous system and disrupt the normal function of neurons.
"I looked into the venom of green ants, along with a bunch of other ants, and found that this
particular class of toxin was responsible for the pain," explains Robinson. "And this toxin class was
new to science. We figured out what the toxins target in our nerves. That information is very useful
to understand how this works at a molecular level and how it's involved in pain."
Another massive breakthrough was a discovery about the gympie-gympie plant, which causes
people pain when they touch it. Scientists were wrong about it for a very long time.
"For a long time, people thought that the long-lasting pain was because of the little spines from the
leaves or stems stuck in the body," says Robinson. "But we now know … what the toxin is in those
stinging trees, and how it causes pain."
A common remedy is to use sticky tape to remove the tiny hairs from the skin.
"We now know that's completely futile," Robinson explains. "It's the toxin that's causing this longlasting pain."
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.
Most Painful Stings
Schmidt rated the bullet ant — found in Central and South
America — as having the most painful insect sting in the world.
Robinson agrees.
"It's called a bullet ant because apparently it feels like being
shot," says Robinson. "Now, I don't know what being shot feels
like, but its bite is a really unique pain, a very deep, drilling,
long-lasting pain. It can last for 12 hours."
The tarantula hawk wasp is also high on his list.
"They can be a couple of inches long, quite frightening, and they
have no natural enemies," Robinson says. "I think that's
because everything knows that when they sting, it just hurts so
much. When you're stung, it's five to 10 minutes of intense pain
and swelling."
Robinson insists the pain is worth it.
"These things, they're not going to kill you. People are really
worried about stinging things," Robinson says. "But the reality
is, that for 99.9 percent of us, they're just going to cause a bit of
transient pain. They're not going to do you any harm beyond
that."
Image 3. The Schmidt pain index has a scale
of 1 to 4. Coming in at 4, the tarantula hawk
wasp and the bullet ant have one of the
most painful stings. Graphic: Zia
Abraham/Newsela staff
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.
Write Prompt
Choose an event from the text. What causes this event to happen?
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.
Quiz
1
2
3
4
Read the section “Observations May Lead To New Drugs.” Which sentence from the section supports the conclusion that Sam
Robinson found important information through his research?
(A)
Robinson rates each sting using a pain scale developed by the late American entomologist Justin
Schmidt.
(B)
They act on the victim’s nervous system and disrupt the normal function of neurons.
(C)
Another massive breakthrough was a discovery about the gympie-gympie plant, which causes people
pain when they touch it.
(D)
A common remedy is to use sticky tape to remove the tiny hairs from the skin.
Read the Introduction [paragraphs 1-4]. Which sentence from the Introduction shows WHY Sam Robinson lets himself get
stung?
(A)
A chemical is a substance that has a defined composition and properties used to identify it.
(B)
It investigates the structure and function of large molecules of living matter.
(C)
Robinson has earned a reputation for being stung by the world’s most painful insects and plants.
(D)
“I wonder, ‘What does that sting feel like?’ and there’s often no information on that.”
Use the images and information from the article to select the TRUE statement.
(A)
The trap-jaw ant is a four on the pain index.
(B)
Insect stings cause swelling on a person’s skin.
(C)
Removing hairs from skin with sticky tape can reduce the pain from a sting.
(D)
Justin Schmidt intentionally let himself get stung by certain insects for science.
Read this selection from the article.
“They can be a couple of inches long, quite frightening, and they have no natural enemies,”
Robinson says. “I think that’s because everything knows that when they sting, it just hurts so
much. When you’re stung, it’s five to 10 minutes of intense pain and swelling.”
How does the Header Image support the information in this selection?
(A)
by providing a visual for the wasp that Sam Robinson describes
(B)
by showing how wasps’ stingers extend and pull back
(C)
by illustrating the swelling that comes after a wasp sting
(D)
by emphasizing how quickly the wasp will attack something
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.
Answer Key
1
2
3
4
Read the section “Observations May Lead To New Drugs.” Which sentence from the section supports the conclusion that Sam
Robinson found important information through his research?
(A)
Robinson rates each sting using a pain scale developed by the late American entomologist Justin
Schmidt.
(B)
They act on the victim’s nervous system and disrupt the normal function of neurons.
(C)
Another massive breakthrough was a discovery about the gympie-gympie plant, which causes
people pain when they touch it.
(D)
A common remedy is to use sticky tape to remove the tiny hairs from the skin.
Read the Introduction [paragraphs 1-4]. Which sentence from the Introduction shows WHY Sam Robinson lets himself get
stung?
(A)
A chemical is a substance that has a defined composition and properties used to identify it.
(B)
It investigates the structure and function of large molecules of living matter.
(C)
Robinson has earned a reputation for being stung by the world’s most painful insects and plants.
(D)
“I wonder, ‘What does that sting feel like?’ and there’s often no information on that.”
Use the images and information from the article to select the TRUE statement.
(A)
The trap-jaw ant is a four on the pain index.
(B)
Insect stings cause swelling on a person’s skin.
(C)
Removing hairs from skin with sticky tape can reduce the pain from a sting.
(D)
Justin Schmidt intentionally let himself get stung by certain insects for science.
Read this selection from the article.
“They can be a couple of inches long, quite frightening, and they have no natural enemies,”
Robinson says. “I think that’s because everything knows that when they sting, it just hurts so
much. When you’re stung, it’s five to 10 minutes of intense pain and swelling.”
How does the Header Image support the information in this selection?
(A)
by providing a visual for the wasp that Sam Robinson describes
(B)
by showing how wasps’ stingers extend and pull back
(C)
by illustrating the swelling that comes after a wasp sting
(D)
by emphasizing how quickly the wasp will attack something
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.