NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS CURRICULUM SUPPORT
Biology
Case study on the toxic effect of
venoms, toxins and poisons
Support Materials
[HIGHER]
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© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2011
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CASE STUDY ON THE TOXIC EFFECT OF VENOMS, TOXINS AND POISONS (H, BIOLOGY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2011
Contents
Student’s notes
A horrible history of poisonings
A horrible history of poisonings 1
A horrible history of poisonings 2
4
7
8
Teacher’s notes
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CASE STUDY ON THE TOXIC EFFECT OF VENOMS, TOXINS AND POISONS (H, BIOLOGY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2011
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STUDENT’S NOTES
Student’s notes
A horrible history of poisonings
Poisons have a long and horrible history. Many people have been assassinated
by poisoning, some have been poisoned by accident, and some have taken
poison deliberately.
Poisons work by disrupting the normal workings of the body at a biochemical
level. The poisoning cases mentioned in this document involve a range of
different aspects of the workings of metabolism or nerve function , all of
which you have studied during the Higher Biology course. This course asks
you to apply your knowledge and then present your findings to your
colleagues. Each case has some web links with background information to get
you started but you might be able to find other useful sites or find
information in books.
You task is to use the poisoning case information to explain:
(a)
some of the biographical background to each case that you are assigned
by your teacher
Most of the websites give a lot of biographical background about
important people from history so you will need to choose a selection of
highlights or quirky points that will interest your colleagues. Other sites
only give brief mentions of the people or groups involved; for these you
should be able to tell the story more easily.
(b)
how the poison works
The websites for this part of the work contain a lot of information. You
should read through them quickly so that you can find out about the
source of the poison and its action in the body.
You must try to make your final presentation clear for your audience, both
with its facts and with its design. A good idea is to gather the information and
then sketch out how your product will look before you get started.
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CASE STUDY ON THE TOXIC EFFECT OF VENOMS, TOXINS AND POISONS (H, BIOLOGY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2011
STUDENT’S NOTES
You will present your final product to the rest of the group. From the research
presented by the other students you will be able to add captions to the
diagram of the cell processes to show where and how each poison has its
effect.
Either:
Make a slide show with the following
design:
1. A title slide, naming the
victim(s) and giving a picture (if
possible).
2. A few slides (two or three)
giving some background
information about the victim(s)
or the poisoners.
3. A few slides (two or three)
explaining the biochemical
activity of the poison and the
effect on the person.
Or:
Make a poster with the following
design:
1. A large clear title, naming the
victim(s) and giving a picture
(if possible).
2. Half the poster should give
some background information
about the victim(s) or the
poisoners.
3. The other half should explain
the biochemical activity of the
poison and the effect on the
person.
CASE STUDY ON THE TOXIC EFFECT OF VENOMS, TOXINS AND POISONS (H, BIOLOGY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2011
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STUDENT’S NOTES
Emperor Claudius
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudiu
s
Georgi Markov
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgi_Mar
kov
Ate death cap mushrooms (amanitin)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlphaAmanitin
Injected with ricin
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index
?qid=20100909113315AAjXkje
Catuvolcus (a chieftain of the Gauls,
defeated by Julius Caesar)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambior
ix's_revolt
Guangxu (second-last emperor of China)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guangxu_E
mperor
Yew leaves (taxane)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxane
Arsenic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenic_poi
soning
Munitions workers in World War I
http://www.firstworldwar.com/featu
res/womenww1_four.htm
Alan Turing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turin
g
Dinitrophenol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2,4Dinitrophenol
Cyanide
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanide
Tokyo subway attack, 1995
http://www.history.com/this-day-inhistory/nerve-gas-attack-on-tokyosubway
Qin Shi Huang (first emperor of China)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_Shi_Hu
ang
Sarin gas
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarin
Austrian wine scandal, 1985
http://www.nytimes.com/1985/08/02
/world/scandal-over-poisoned-wineembitters-village-in-austria.html
Ethylene glycol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compet
itive_inhibition and
http://dwb4.unl.edu/chem/chem869k
/chem869klinks/jeffline.tju.edu/cwis
/dept/biochemistry/kinetics/html/PA
GE20A.HTML
6
Mercury
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/in
dex?qid=20100328122353AAihCwz
George Frideric Handel
http://www.essentialsofmusic.com/comp
oser/handel.html and
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/a
pr/02/handel-anniversary-exhibition
Lead, non-competitive inhibitor section
http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembo
ok/573inhibit.html
CASE STUDY ON THE TOXIC EFFECT OF VENOMS, TOXINS AND POISONS (H, BIOLOGY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2011
STUDENT’S NOTES
A horrible history of poisonings 1
Emperor Claudius
Georgi Markov
Catuvolcus
enzyme
Qin Shi Huang
substrate
George Frideric Handel
Austrian wine scandal
CASE STUDY ON THE TOXIC EFFECT OF VENOMS, TOXINS AND POISONS (H, BIOLOGY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2011
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STUDENT’S NOTES
A horrible history of poisonings 2
Citric acid
cycle
Glycolysis
H+
H+
Electron transport
chain
Guangxu
Munitions workers in
World War I
Close-up of a nerve ending
Alan Turing
Tokyo subway attack
neurotransmitter
receptor
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CASE STUDY ON THE TOXIC EFFECT OF VENOMS, TOXINS AND POISONS (H, BIOLOGY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2011
TEACHER’S NOTES
Teachers’ notes
This is a synoptic case study that draws its contexts from across all three
units. Because of this it would be best used near the end of the course as a
way to revise previous work. Although the web links have been chosen to be
accessible for Higher students, the students will still have to do a bit of
selecting of which information to use. Some sites have a lot of information
but contain a good explanation of the mechanism or of the biographical
background.
The poisoning cases could be printed on card and issued at random to each
working group. However, some are trickier and it might be best to preview
the web links and select the students for each case.
Since the addresses for the web links are pretty large, it might be easiest to
send the relevant information by e -mail to each group so that they can simply
click on the link.
It may be useful to have paper copies of the web links ready so that computer
access is not an absolute necessity. Versions of the paper copies could also be
highlighted to show the key areas of information if it is felt that the group
needs a bit more support.
Possible approaches to using this case study.
1.
Paired presentation task
This is the format given on the introductory page. It would be an
extended task, either over a few lessons or during self -study time.
Pairs of students could be given one or two cases to research and asked
to present their findings to the rest of the class. During the
presentations, the diagram sheet is completed using the descriptions
given by the groups.
2.
Collaborative task
This could be done in class, with time limits put on each of the phases.
CASE STUDY ON THE TOXIC EFFECT OF VENOMS, TOXINS AND POISONS (H, BIOLOGY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2011
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TEACHER’S NOTES
Phase 1 – the students are divided into groups of three. Each group is
responsible for researching two or three of the poisoning cases.
Phase 2 – the groups work as teams to find out information from the
other groups. During this phase each member of each group is given a
specific role:
(a)
(b)
(c)
the researcher is responsible for visiting other groups and finding
out information from their biology experts
the biology expert provides information to researchers from other
groups
the scribe, timekeeper and manager of resources records the
research information gathered from each group and reports to
their group at end so that everyone in the group has a complete
record of information on all the poisoning cases.
This approach works well when students are selected for the groups,
mixing up ability levels and not simply allowing them to work with
their friends.
3.
Individual task
The students could be given the diagram sheet and the list of web links.
Each individual is set the task of completing the captions.
The diagram pages could be printed on A3 paper to allow p lenty of space for
notes to be made.
At the end of each presentation it would be beneficial to allow an open
question session from others in the class to help clarify any bits of
information that have not come across well. Some probing questions from the
teacher might also help in this process. The questions from other students and
the teacher provide a means of formative assessment of the overall grasp of
knowledge.
The list on the next page gives a brief note of the action of each poison. If
you ask the students to present them in numerical order then the poisons will
be grouped by their action and it will probably be easier to understand the
overall picture.
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CASE STUDY ON THE TOXIC EFFECT OF VENOMS, TOXINS AND POISONS (H, BIOLOGY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2011
TEACHER’S NOTES
Case
1
Victim
Emperor Claudius
http://en.wikipedia.org/wi
ki/Claudius
Poison
Ate death cap mushrooms
(amanatin)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
/Alpha-Amanitin
Action
Competitive inhibition
of RNA polymerase
2
Georgi Markov
http://en.wikipedia.org/wi
ki/Georgi_Markov
Injected with ricin
http://answers.yahoo.com/q
uestion/index?qid=2010090
9113315AAjXkje
Enzymatic action on
ribosomes
3
Catuvolcus (a chieftain of
the Gauls, defeated by
Julius Caeser)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wi
ki/Ambiorix's_revolt
Yew leaves (taxane)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
/Taxane
Blocks spindle fibres in
cell division
4
George Frideric Handel
http://www.essentialsofmu
sic.com/composer/handel.
html and
http://www.guardian.co.uk
/music/2009/apr/02/handel
-anniversary-exhibition
Lead in wine – noncompetitive inhibitor
http://www.elmhurst.edu/~c
hm/vchembook/573inhibit.h
tml
General noncompetitive inhibitor
5
Austrian wine scandal of
1985
http://www.nytimes.com/1
985/08/02/world/scandalover-poisoned-wineembitters-village-inaustria.html
Ethylene glycol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
/Competitive_inhibition and
http://dwb4.unl.edu/chem/c
hem869k/chem869klinks/je
ffline.tju.edu/cwis/dept/bio
chemistry/kinetics/html/PA
GE20A.HTML
Competitive inhibitor of
ethanol dehydrogenase
6
Guangxu (second-last
emperor of China)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wi
ki/Guangxu_Emperor
Arsenic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
/Arsenic_poisoning
Blocks dehydrogenase
enzymes of respiration
7
Munitions workers in
World War I
http://www.firstworldwar.
com/features/womenww1_
four.htm
Dinitrophenol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
/2,4-Dinitrophenol
Lets hydrogen ions
through the cristae
membrane
CASE STUDY ON THE TOXIC EFFECT OF VENOMS, TOXINS AND POISONS (H, BIOLOGY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2011
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TEACHER’S NOTES
8
Alan Turing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wi
ki/Alan_Turing
Self-administered cyanide
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
/Cyanide
Inhibits last step of
cytochrome system
9
Qin Shi Huang (first
emperor of China)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wi
ki/Qin_Shi_Huang
Mercury
http://uk.answers.yahoo.co
m/question/index?qid=2010
0328122353AAihCwz
Breaks disulphide
bridges in enzymes
10
Tokyo subway attack,
1995
http://www.history.com/th
is-day-in-history/nervegas-attack-on-tokyosubway
Sarin gas
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
/Sarin
Competitive inhibitor of
cholinesterase in
synapse
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CASE STUDY ON THE TOXIC EFFECT OF VENOMS, TOXINS AND POISONS (H, BIOLOGY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2011
TEACHER’S NOTES
Possible further research could be done on the following cases:
 Socrates (the Greek philosopher, not the Brazilian footballer) was
poisoned by hemlock (coniine), which acts as an antagonist of
acetylcholine receptors.
 Cleopatra was poisoned by the bite of an asp (an Egyptian cobra) , which
contains cobratoxin, an antagonist of acetylcholine receptors.
 Bando Mitsugoro (Japanese actor) was poisoned by fugu (blowfish toxin,
tetrodotoxin), which blocks the sodium ion channels in nerves.
 Robert Johnson (influential blues guitarist) was poisoned by strychnine, an
antagonist of glycine receptors in synapses.
 Andre Noble (Canadian actor) was poisoned by monkshood (aconitum),
which opens sodium ion channels in the heart.
 Theodore Romzha was assassinated by the KGB using curare, which is an
antagonist of acetylcholine receptors.
The medical uses of the following poisons could also be researched:
 atropine (from deadly nightshade), an antagonist of acetylcholine receptors
– used in eye surgery to dilate pupils
 curare (from a South American vine), an antagonist of acetylcholine
receptors – used in surgery to relax muscles
 digoxin (from foxgloves), binds to the Na + /K + ATPase pump in heart
muscle cells – used to regulate heart rhythm
 phytohaemagglutinin (from red kidney beans), binds to the carbohydrate
units on red blood cell membranes and causes blood clotting – also induces
mitosis in lymphocytes, so is used for karyotype analysis and HIV
research.
The poisonous content of various plants could be intriguing for some
students:
 Phytohaemagglutinin (from red kidney beans) binds to the carbohydrate
units on red blood cell membranes and causes blood clotting.
 The leaves of plants in the Solanaceae family, eg tomatoes, potatoes and
aubergines, all produce solanine, which is an inhibitor of cholinesterase at
nerve synapses.
 Rhubarb leaves contain high levels of oxalic acid , which combines with
metals, so preventing their use by the body.
CASE STUDY ON THE TOXIC EFFECT OF VENOMS, TOXINS AND POISONS (H, BIOLOGY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2011
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