Scientific American is carrying this article detailing a new discovery in animal toxin research. Scientists have known for a long time that certain birds and frogs in New Guinea and the Amazon rain forests secrete special poisons from their skin to ward off predators and parasites, but when raised in captivity these animals showed no trace of any such poison. Finally, scientists have discovered (through the help of local villagers) a small beetle that seems to be the ultimate origin of the neurotoxin. During the research, they also discovered other species of beetles that secrete similar but previously unknown varieties of the toxin.