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  • 3693382PublicAssets/3583This video condenses 6.5 minutes into less than a minute to show how the toxin in bee venom, called melittin, destroys an animal or bacterial cell. What looks like a red balloon is an artificial cell filled with red dye. Melittin molecules are colored green and float on the cell's surface like twigs on a pond. As melittin accumulates on the cell's membrane, the membrane expands to accommodate it. In the video, the membrane stretches into a column on the left. When melittin levels reach a critical threshold, countless pinhole leaks burst open in the membrane. The cell's vital fluids (red dye in the video) leak out through these pores. Within minutes, the cell collapses. More information about the research behind this image can be found in a <a href="http://biobeat.nigms.nih.gov/2013/09/cool-video-how-bee-venom-toxin-kills-cells/" target=_blank>Biomedical Beat Blog posting</a> from September 2013.Huey Huang, Rice UniversityHuey Huang, Rice UniversityVideo

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    Cells

    Bee venom toxin destroying a cell

    This video condenses 6.5 minutes into less than a minute to show how the toxin in bee venom, called melittin, destroys an animal or bacterial cell. What looks like a red balloon is an artificial cell filled with red dye. Melittin molecules are colored green and float on the cell's surface like twigs on a pond. As melittin accumulates on the cell's membrane, the membrane expands to accommodate it. In the video, the membrane stretches into a column on the left. When melittin levels reach a critical threshold, countless pinhole leaks burst open in the membrane. The cell's vital fluids (red dye in the video) leak out through these pores. Within minutes, the cell collapses. More information about the research behind this image can be found in a Biomedical Beat Blog posting from September 2013.

    Source

    Huey Huang, Rice University

    Credit Line

    Huey Huang, Rice University

    Record Type

    Video

    ID

    3583

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