Exploring Biodiversity: The Search for New Medicines

Lecture 1 – From Venoms to Drugs

by Baldomero M. Olivera, PhD

  1.  1.  Start of Lecture 1
  2.  2.  Welcome by HHMI President Dr. Robert Tjian
  3.  3.  Profile of Dr. Baldomero Olivera
  4.  4.  Venomous animals
  5.  5.  Venom defined
  6.  6.  Diversity of venomous animals
  7.  7.  Uses of venom
  8.  8.  Predatory strategy spectrum
  9.  9.  Demonstration: Live cone snail
  10. 10.  Video: Conus catus strikes a fish
  11. 11.  Cone snail venom system
  12. 12.  Video: Philippines biodiversity
  13. 13.  Geological reasons for the Philippines biodiversity
  14. 14.  Phylogenetic tree of cone snails
  15. 15.  Video: Conus textile strikes a snail
  16. 16.  Video: Conus imperialis strikes a worm
  17. 17.  Hunting specialization and phylogenetic tree
  18. 18.  Demonstration: Conus geographus can kill you
  19. 19.  Biodiversity of venomous snails
  20. 20.  Q&A: Does Conus geographus make deadlier venom or just more?
  21. 21.  Q&A: How many people are stung by cone snails?
  22. 22.  Venoms as research tools
  23. 23.  Chromatography helps identify venom components
  24. 24.  Conus geographus has over 200 venom components
  25. 25.  Venom components that paralyze mice
  26. 26.  Undergraduate pioneers new assay
  27. 27.  Behavioral spectrum from intracranial injection
  28. 28.  Undergraduate discovery leads to new pain medication
  29. 29.  Animation: Prialt blocks motor synapse in fish
  30. 30.  Animation: Prialt blocks pain signaling in mice
  31. 31.  Review of synapse function and Prialt action
  32. 32.  Prialt-sensitive and Prialt-insensitive channels
  33. 33.  Calcium channel diversity
  34. 34.  22 years from discovery to drug
  35. 35.  Prialt is one of thousands of candidate drugs
  36. 36.  Q&A: Would Prialt work with all human calcium channels?
  37. 37.  Q&A: How many components have been tested and approved as drugs?
  38. 38.  Closing remarks by HHMI President Dr. Robert Tjian


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