Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
How can garter snakes eat poisonous newts and survive? And how might newts evolve to fight back? A computational chemist investigates the molecular battle behind this evolutionary arms race.
“When snakes win, newts reload: In silico characterization of tetrodotoxin interactions with snake sodium channels”
Presented at ACS Spring 2026 on March 24, 2026
Presenter: Kait Malewicz
Principal Investigators: Joel McGlothlin, Ph.D., and Justin A. Lemkul, Ph.D.
View the digital poster: spring2026-acs.ipostersessions.com/Default.aspx?s=6C-DE-55-04-04-54-77-02-29-50-40-48-41-A7-3E-8A
Video credits:
Written and produced by Kerri Jansen, Anne Hylden, and Vangie Koonce
Edited and animated by Janali Thompson
Narrated by Anne Hylden
Series produced by Vangie Koonce, Anne Hylden, Andrew Sobey, Kerri Jansen, and Jefferson Beck
Executive produced by Matthew Radcliff
Research videos courtesy of Kait Malewicz
Additional footage from Oregon Zoo and Shutterstock
Sound effects: Soundsnap
Music: Blinky's Blunder (Instrumental) by Dan Zimmer from Triple Scoop Music
Produced by the American Chemical Society (ACS), one of the world’s largest scientific societies. ACS is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals, and scientific conferences.
Join the #AmericanChemicalSociety! bit.ly/Join_ACS
#chemistry #snake #newts #battleroyale
How can garter snakes eat poisonous newts and survive? And how might newts evolve to fight back? A computational chemist investigates the molecular battle behind this evolutionary arms race.
“When snakes win, newts reload: In silico characterization of tetrodotoxin interactions with snake sodium channels”
Presented at ACS Spring 2026 on March 24, 2026
Presenter: Kait Malewicz
Principal Investigators: Joel McGlothlin, Ph.D., and Justin A. Lemkul, Ph.D.
View the digital poster: spring2026-acs.ipostersessions.com/Default.aspx?s=6C-DE-55-04-04-54-77-02-29-50-40-48-41-A7-3E-8A
Video credits:
Written and produced by Kerri Jansen, Anne Hylden, and Vangie Koonce
Edited and animated by Janali Thompson
Narrated by Anne Hylden
Series produced by Vangie Koonce, Anne Hylden, Andrew Sobey, Kerri Jansen, and Jefferson Beck
Executive produced by Matthew Radcliff
Research videos courtesy of Kait Malewicz
Additional footage from Oregon Zoo and Shutterstock
Sound effects: Soundsnap
Music: Blinky's Blunder (Instrumental) by Dan Zimmer from Triple Scoop Music
Produced by the American Chemical Society (ACS), one of the world’s largest scientific societies. ACS is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals, and scientific conferences.
Join the #AmericanChemicalSociety! bit.ly/Join_ACS
#chemistry #snake #newts #battleroyale
