Golden poison dart frog

The golden poison dart frog is considered one of the most toxic animals on Earth. A single frog has enough venom to kill ten grown men. They range from less than an inch to two and a half inches in body length. These are more than 100 poison dart frog species living in the rainforests of Central and South America and on a few Hawaiian Islands. Poison dart frogs are so named because some Amerindian tribes have used their secretions to poison their darts.

They are bright in color, which can be yellow, orange, or pale green, depending on their particular range. The frog's color pattern is aposematic, which is a warning pigmentation to warn predators of its toxicity. The golden poison frog's skin is densely coated in alkaloid poison, one of a number of poisons common to dart frogs, which prevents nerves from transmitting impulses, leaving the muscles in an inactive state of contraction. This can lead to heart failure or fibrillation. Alkaloid batrachotoxins can be stored by frogs for years after the frog is deprived of a food-based source, and such toxins do not readily deteriorate, even when transferred to another surface. Chickens and dogs have died from contact with a paper towel on which a frog had walked.

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Chagas: The new AIDS

Chagas, a tropical disease spread by insects has infected more than 8 million people, most of them in Latin and Central America.

The editorial, published by the Public Library of Science's Neglected Tropical Diseases, said the spread of the disease is reminiscent of the early years of HIV.

Both diseases disproportionately affect people living in poverty, both are chronic conditions requiring prolonged, expensive treatment, and as with patients in the first two decades of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, most patients with Chagas disease do not have access to health care facilities.

Unlike HIV, Chagas is not a sexually-transmitted disease. It is caused by parasites transmitted to humans by blood-sucking insects. The insect, known as the kissing bug bites you on the face. When you wake up and scratch the itch, the parasite moves into the wound and you're infected.

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Two Sydney men named baby's parents

Two men have been declared the parents of a toddler born through a surrogate, after a New South Wales court in Australia ruled it was in the child's best interests.

The birth mother agreed to give up recognition on the birth certificate, leaving only the names of the Sydney same-sex couple on the document.

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Dark chocolate could prevent heart problem

According to researchers based in Melbourne, eating about 100g of dark chocolate daily could help prevent heart problems in high risk people. Dark chocolate is rich in components called polyphenols, especially flavonoids, which can have anti-inflammatory and blood pressure lowering effects.

Melbourne researchers surveyed data on 2000 people at risk of developing heart disease and estimated the benefits to their health of eating 100g of dark chocolate a day after a decade.

Using a best-case scenario of 100 per cent compliance, the researchers showed that daily dark chocolate consumption could avert about 85 fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes, per 10,000 people treated over 10 years.

It also showed that spending $40 per person a year on prevention strategies using dark chocolate would be cost-effective.

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