Venom is a secretion containing one or more toxins produced by an animal. Venom has evolved in a wide variety of animals, both predators and prey, both vertebrates and invertebrates. Venoms kill through the action of at least four major classes of toxin, namely necrotoxins and cytotoxins, which kill cells. Biologically, venom is distinguished from poison in that poisons are ingested, while venom is delivered in a bite, sting, or similar action. Venomous animals cause tens of thousands of human deaths per year. However, the toxins in many venoms have potential to treat a wide range of diseases; the use of venom across a wide variety of taxa is an example of convergent evolution. It is difficult to conclude how this trait came to be so intensely widespread and diversified; the multigene families that encode the toxins of venomous animals are selected, creating more diverse toxins with specific functions. Venoms adapt to their environment and victims and accordingly evolve to become maximally efficient on a predator's particular prey.

Venoms become specialized to an animal's standard diet. Venoms cause their biological effects via the toxins. Among the major classes of toxin in venoms are: Necrotoxins, which cause necrosis in the cells they encounter; the venom of most viper species contains trypsin-like serine proteases. Neurotoxins, which affect the nervous systems of animals; these include ion channel toxins. Black widow spider, box jellyfish, cone snail and blue-ringed octopus venoms function in this way. Myotoxins, which damage muscles by binding to a receptor, are small, basic peptides found in snake and lizard venoms. Cytotoxins, which kill individual cells, are found in the apitoxin of honey bees and the venom of black widow spiders. Venom is distributed taxonomically, being found in both invertebrates and vertebrates; the major groups of venomous animals are described below. Venomous arthropods include spiders. In insects such as bees and wasps, the stinger is a modified egg-laying device — the ovipositor. In Polistes fuscatus, the female continuously releases a venom that contains a sex pheromone that induces copulatory behavior in males.

In Polistes exclamans, venom is used as an alarm pheromone, coordinating a response with from the nest and attracting nearby wasps to attack the predator. In Dolichovespula arenaria, the observed spraying of venom out of their sting has been seen from workers in large colonies. In other cases like Parischnogaster striatula, the venom is applied all over their body as an antimicrobial protection; the venom from Agelaia pallipes has inhibitory effects on processes like chemotaxis and hemolysis which can lead to organ failure. Many caterpillars have defensive venom glands associated with specialized bristles on the body, known as urticating hairs, which can be lethal to humans, although the venom's strength varies depending on the species. Bees synthesize and employ an acidic venom to cause pain in those that they sting to defend their hives and food stores, whereas wasps use a chemically different alkaline venom designed to paralyze prey, so it can be stored alive in the food chambers of their young.

The use of venom is much more widespread than just these examples. Other insects, such as true bugs and many ants produce venom. At least one ant species has been shown to use venom topically for the sterilisation of pathogens. There are venomous invertebrates in several phyla, including jellyfish such as the dangerous box jellyfish and sea anemones among the Cnidaria,sea urchins among the Echinodermata, cone snails and cephalopods including octopuses among the Molluscs. Venom is found in some 200 cartilaginous fishes, including stingrays and chimaeras. Among amphibians, some salamanders can extrude sharp venom-tipped ribs; some 450 species of snake are venomous. Snake venom is produced by glands below the eye and delivered to the victim through tubular or channeled fangs. Snake venoms contain a variety of peptide toxins, including proteases, which hydrolyze protein peptide bonds, which hydrolyze the phosphodiester bonds of DNA, neurotoxins, which disable signalling in the nervous system. Snake venom causes symptoms including pain, tissue necrosis, low blood pressure, hemorrhage, respiratory paralysis, kidney failure and death.

Snake venom may have originated with duplication of genes, expressed in the salivary glands of ancestors. Venom is found in a few other reptiles such as the Mexican beaded lizard, the gila monster, some monitor lizards including the Komodo dragon. Mass spectrometry showed that the mixture of proteins present in their venom is as complex as the mixture of proteins found in snake venom. S

The Hole is a 2001 British psychological horror thriller film directed by Nick Hamm, starring Thora Birch, Desmond Harrington, Keira Knightley, Daniel Brocklebank, Embeth Davidtz. Based on the novel After the Hole by Guy Burt, the film follows a group of English public school students who, upon spending a weekend partying in an underground shelter, find themselves locked inside. Filmed in 2000, the film featured actress Birch in the lead role, whose headlining credit and publicized seven-figure salary was attributed to her appearance in American Beauty, it marked Knightley's first major role in a feature film. The film premiered in the United Kingdom in April 2001. Dimension Films, which in October 2001 acquired the rights to distribute the film theatrically in the United States, never did so; the film was shot at Bray Studios and various locations around southern England, including Downside School in Somerset. Private school student Liz resurfaces and bloody, after disappearing 18 days prior along with her peers Mike and Geoff's girlfriend, Frankie.

Liz is interviewed by Dr. Phillipa Horwood. Liz recounts how her friend Martyn arranged for the four to spend the weekend in an abandoned underground nuclear fallout shelter to avoid a school field trip. Liz portrays herself as being unpopular but as Frankie is her friend, she was able to convince the others to go down into the shelter; when Martyn fails to return for them, the four belatedly realize they are trapped, begin to turn on one another. They discover hidden microphones in the shelter. Attempting to get Martyn's attention, Frankie pretends to be ill, while Mike and Liz feign hatred for one another. Liz claims they woke up one morning and found the hatch opened, allowing them all to escape. Phillipa is skeptical of Liz's story. Martyn is subsequently taken into police custody, where he tells an different story: He claims Liz and Frankie orchestrated the scheme in order for Liz to get to know Mike better, for Frankie to spend time with Geoff. Liz is not the unpopular loner she has portrayed herself as, in fact it is Martyn, the loner while Liz and Frankie are the popular girls.

Meanwhile, Liz returns home. An enraged Martyn goes believing she is framing him, she approaches a weir. Martyn cries, Liz hysterically says that she knew they would let him go because they could not prove anything. At their next meeting, Liz tells Phillipa. Phillipa decides hoping to invoke her memory. Once inside, Liz reveals the truth: She had locked herself and her friends inside in the hopes of winning Mike's affection, with whom she was obsessed. After discovering that both he and Geoff had slept with Frankie, she spontaneously decided to lock the door, isolating them and giving her the opportunity to become closer to him; the four had planned to drink and do drugs in the shelter, but the realisation that they were unable to escape initiated the group into hysteria. Frankie soon becomes ill and is unable to stop vomiting, this increases her dehydration, tears the lining of her stomach and puts a great strain on her heart; this causes cardiac arrest and Frankie dies. Liz and Geoff ran out of food and water.

When Mike discovered that Geoff was hoarding a Coca-Cola can in his backpack, he attacks him in a fit of rage but accidentally kills him from beating Geoff's head on the floor. Liz suggested a suicide pact; when Mike discovers she had the key all along, he attempts to chase after her, but falls to his death from the ladder. After Liz finishes recounting the story to Phillipa, Phillipa asks her to make an official statement corroborating Martyn's version of events. Police arrive at the shelter, Liz begins screaming for help, pretending Phillipa was attempting to hurt her. Meanwhile, Martyn's corpse is fished out of the river; the police attribute his death to suicide. Liz is allowed to go free, she leaves the shelter in the back of an ambulance, smiling at Phillipa from the window as it drives away. Thora Birch as Elizabeth "Liz" Dunn Keira Knightley as Frances "Frankie" Almond Smith Desmond Harrington as Michael "Mike" Steel Laurence Fox as Geoffrey "Geoff" Bingham Daniel Brocklebank as Martyn Taylor Embeth Davidtz as Dr. Philippa Horwood Steven Waddington as DCS Tom Howard Gemma Craven as Mrs. Dunn Kelly Hunter as DI Chapman Anastasia Hille as Forensic Pathologist Gillian Nick Hamm began casting actors at the end of 1999.

Hamm described newcomer Keira Knightley as a young version of Julie Christie. To prepare for the role, Thora Birch visited an English public school. Principal photography began in 2 July 2000 and ended on 9 November 2000 lasted six weeks and took place around London and southern England. Specific locations included Downside Boarding School in Bray Studios; the film was shot in Super 35 format. The film received mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the press's critics gave 50% positive reviews. Michael Thomson, in a review for the BBC, said the film was a "dark, grisly adventure" influenced by William Golding's novel Lo

David Lee Harrison is an American children’s author and poet. Harrison's poetry and nonfiction for young readers have been anthologized in more than 185 books, translated into twelve languages, sandblasted into a library sidewalk, painted on a bookmobile, presented on television, radio and video stream. Ten of his 90 books are professional works for teachers, he is poet laureate of Drury University. David Harrison Elementary School is named after him, he has given keynote talks, college commencement addresses, been featured at hundreds of conferences, literature festivals, schools across America. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Drury University in 1959, a Master of Science degree from Emory University in 1960, two Honorary Doctor of Letters degrees, his poetry collection, represented Missouri at the 2013 National Book Fair in Washington, D. C. 1953-58 Musician: Principal trombonist, symphony orchestra, Missouri 1959- Writer: stories for adult market. 2012 CowboysFiction 1969 The Boy with A Drum 1969 Little Turtle’s Big Adventure 1972 The Book of Giant Stories 1986 Wake Up, Sun!

1994 When Cows Come Home 2001 Johnny Appleseed, My Story 2002 Dylan the Eagle-Hearted Chicken 2013 A Perfect Home for a FamilyNonfiction 1970 The World of American Caves 1981 What Do You Know! 2001 Caves, Mysteries Beneath Our Feet 2002 Volcanoes, Nature’s Incredible Fireworks 2007 Cave Detectives, Unraveling the Mysteries of an Ice Age Cave 2010 Mammoth Bones and Broken StonesProfessional 1999 Easy Poetry Lessons that Dazzle and Delight 2009 Partner Poems for Building Fluency 2013 Learning through Poetry Harrison and his wife Sandy live in Springfield, Missouri. They have two grown children and Jeff. Christopher Award, Christopher Foundation, 1973, for The Book of Giant Stories. Award for Outstanding Contributions to Children's Literature, Central State University, 1978. Distinguished Alumni Award, Drury College, 1981. Kentucky Blue Grass Award nominee, Kentucky State Reading Association, 1993, for Somebody Catch My Homework. Celebrate Literacy Award, Springfield Council of the International Reading Association, 1994 and 2002.

Celebrate Literacy Award, Missouri State Reading Association, 1994. Friend of Education Award, Missouri State Teachers Association, 1994 and 2002. Children's Choice Award, IRA/Children's Book Council, 1994, for Somebody Catch My Homework, 1995, for When Cows Come Home, 1997, for A Thousand Cousins. Inclusion on Recommended Reading List, Kansas State Reading Association, 1995, Master List of Virginia Young Readers Program, Virginia State Reading Association, 1996–97, both for When Cows Come Home. IRA Local Council Community Service Award, 2001, for "Sky High on Reading" literacy project. Missouri Governor's Humanities Award, 2001; the Missourian Award, 2006