Toxins
Delving into the world of poisons
Learn how New Zealand’s most poisonous creature was discovered through the investigative work of scientists. Discover what toxins are, how they are identified and how they enter the food web.
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Finding your way around
There are several different ways to discover the site's resources and their related content, along with ideas for grouping them for teaching opportunities:
- The collections contain groups of related resources about Toxins.
- The Connections tool is a visual interactive pathway to discovering the resources and related content for Toxins.
- The printable context overview will assist teachers to find pathways through this context and to plan lessons and units of work.
Collections | Connections | Context overview (PDF 79 kB)
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FEATURED ITEMS
Solving the dog death mystery
During 2009, several dogs died on Narrow Neck and Cheltenham beaches in Auckland. Scientists at the Cawthron Institute were instrumental in identifying grey side-gilled sea slugs as the toxic...
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FEATURED ITEMS
Sea slugs and TTX
Scientists from Cawthron Institute discovered high levels of deadly tetrodotoxin in grey side-gilled sea slugs. They’re now trying to find out where the tetrodotoxin came from and how it got into...
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FEATURED ITEMS
Grey side-gilled sea slugs
In 2009, some grey side-gilled sea slugs (Pleurobranchaea maculata) were found to be toxic. This article describes the sea slug and its toxicity.
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FEATURED ITEMS
Poisons and toxins
Poisons are substances that cause harm to organisms when sufficient quantities are absorbed, inhaled or ingested. A toxin is a poisonous substance produced within living cells or organisms.
FEATURED MEDIA
Monitoring shellfish safety
Collections
NZ Research
This collection provides information about the work of New Zealand’s world-class science and technology sectors in relation to Toxins....
Science Ideas and Concepts
Scientific study requires a basic knowledge and understanding of ideas and concepts. This collection explains the ideas that are...
Looking Closer
People
This collection introduces some of the people working or studying in the areas explored in Toxins. Click on a name to find out more about...
Teaching and Learning Approaches
Student activities are the main feature of this collection, along with a variety of resources for teachers to use in exploring Toxins.
Question Bank
An inquiry approach is a method often used in science education. The question bank provides an initial list of questions about Toxins and...
Key Terms
This resource provides explanations of the key concepts encountered when exploring Toxins – the ‘basics’ that every student should...
Sci Media
This collection is where you can find all the images, video clips, animations and interactives that relate to Toxins.
