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Bryan G. Fry: 2 ideas worth knowing

2 ideas from Bryan G. Fry, each explained in a minute and credited to the original work. Free on Savvy.

• Komodo dragons kill with venom, not just dirty saliva

  For decades, biologists believed Komodo dragons killed prey through septic bacteria festering in their mouths. A 2009 study using MRI scans found instead that they have genuine ven…

  — Bryan Fry et al., A Central Role for Venom in Predation by Varanus komodoensis

• The world's only venomous primate mixes its toxin by licking its own arm

  Slow lorises are the only primates known to be venomous. A gland on the inner arm secretes an oily compound that stays harmless until the loris licks it, mixing it with saliva to a…

  — K. Anne-Isola Nekaris, Richard S. Moore, E. Johanna Rode & Bryan G. Fry, Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know: The Biochemistry, Ecology and Evolution of Slow Loris Venom

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