Sept. 17th Mtg: Powerful Poisons with a Pro!

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Dr. Mark SiddallDr. Mark Siddall is the curator of the Museum of Natural History ‘s Division of Invertebrate Zoology, and recently curated an exhibit called The Power of Poison.

Dr. Siddall has led expeditions throughout the world, and his research has focused on the evolutionary biology of a wide range of parasites, from single-celled microbes to leeches. He now concentrates on researching Darwinian selection and diversity of hemotoxic venom proteins of leeches, among them the new species Tyrannobdella rex (T. rex), recently described by him and his students, who discovered it in the Amazon.

He’ll join us to discuss more about the enigmatic topic of poison that’s been fascinating us since one of the earliest writers, Euthyphro, recorded Socrates’ death after drinking hemlock.

As usual we’re gathering on the third Wednesday at the Jefferson Market Library at 6:30, with the program to begin by 7pm.. More information about this and upcoming programs is at the Meetings page.