With a circulation of 1.2 million, Discover is among the 50 best-read magazines in the United States. Schwerin says, For National Geographic Television we like to feature scientists doing cutting-edge research, and Bruce Young is doing it. Not many people are studying venom injection. He told me it s almost as if snakes are thinking and assessing their prey and deciding how much venom to use. The more we know about the behavior of snakes, the better.
Education inspires fascination.
Young, a member of Lafayette s neuroscience program, says, During the last few years my students and I have been researching the neuromuscular control of venom injection in Western diamondback rattlesnakes. The anatomical studies we have performed suggest that venom flow through the venom delivery system could be influenced by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. For example, the venom duct which conveys venom from the venom gland along the margin of the upper jaw to the fang is located very superficially and could be compressed by forces acting on the upper jaw during prey capture, Young continues. I m currently examining the relationship between external forces and venom flow. National Geographic filmed Young performing microsurgery on rattlesnakes, a continuation of research that Blair and Zahn performed last year with Young.