Australia Scientists: Stinging Trees Contain 'Scorpion-like Venom'

Burnt tree logs are seen in the fire-grounds near Batemans Bay, Australia January 8, 2020. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis
Burnt tree logs are seen in the fire-grounds near Batemans Bay, Australia January 8, 2020. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis
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Australia Scientists: Stinging Trees Contain 'Scorpion-like Venom'

Burnt tree logs are seen in the fire-grounds near Batemans Bay, Australia January 8, 2020. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis
Burnt tree logs are seen in the fire-grounds near Batemans Bay, Australia January 8, 2020. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

Australia is notorious for its venomous spiders, snakes and sea creatures, but researchers have now identified "scorpion-like" toxins secreted by a tree that can cause excruciating pain for weeks.

Split-second contact with the dendrocnide tree, a rainforest nettle known by its indigenous name gympie-gympie, delivers a sting far more potent than similar plants found in the US or Europe.

The tree, which has broad oval- or heart-shaped leaves, is primarily found in rainforest areas of northeast Queensland, where it is notorious among hikers.

A team of Australian scientists say they now better understand why the gympie-gympie's sting haunts those unlucky enough to brush up against its leaves.

Victims report an initial sting that "feels like fire at first, then subsides over hours to a pain reminiscent of having the affected body part caught in a slammed car door", the University of Queensland researchers said Thursday.

In the final, drawn-out stages, simply taking a shower can reignite the pain, AFP reported.

Though the gympie-gympie is covered in fine needle-like hairs similar to other nettles, previous testing for common irritants such as histamines came up empty.

Irina Vetter, an associate professor at the University of Queensland's Institute for Molecular Bioscience, said the research team discovered a new class of neurotoxin miniproteins, which they christened 'gympietides'.

"Although they come from a plant, the gympietides are similar to spider and cone snail toxins in the way they fold into their 3D molecular structures and target the same pain receptors -- this arguably makes the gympie-gympie tree a truly 'venomous' plant," she said.

Australia is already infamous for its venomous fauna including snakes, box jellyfish, blue-ringed octopus and funnel-web spiders, although deaths in humans from bites or stings are rare.

Vetter said the long-lasting pain inflicted by the tree may be explained by the gympietides permanently altering the chemical makeup of the affected sensory neurons -- not due to the fine hairs getting stuck in the skin.

The scientists hope their research, published in peer-reviewed journal Sciences Advances, will eventually help lead to better pain relief treatment for people who have been stung.



Japan Births in 2024 Fell Below 700,000 for First Time 

People walk along a pedestrian crossing at a shopping street Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP)
People walk along a pedestrian crossing at a shopping street Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP)
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Japan Births in 2024 Fell Below 700,000 for First Time 

People walk along a pedestrian crossing at a shopping street Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP)
People walk along a pedestrian crossing at a shopping street Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP)

The number of births in Japan last year fell below 700,000 for the first time on record, government data showed Wednesday.

The fast-ageing nation welcomed 686,061 newborns in 2024 -- 41,227 fewer than in 2023, the data showed. It was the lowest figure since records began in 1899.

Japan has the world's second-oldest population after tiny Monaco, according to the World Bank.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has called the situation a "quiet emergency", pledging family-friendly measures like more flexible working hours to try and reverse the trend.

Wednesday's health ministry data showed that Japan's total fertility rate -- the average number of children a woman is expected to have -- also fell to a record low of 1.15.

The ministry said Japan saw 1.6 million deaths in 2024, up 1.9 percent from a year earlier.

Ishiba has called for the revitalization of rural regions, where shrinking elderly villages are becoming increasingly isolated.

In more than 20,000 communities in Japan, the majority of residents are aged 65 and above, according to the internal affairs ministry.

The country of 123 million people is also facing increasingly severe worker shortages as its population ages, not helped by relatively strict immigration rules.

In neighboring South Korea, the fertility rate in 2024 was even lower than Japan's, at 0.75 -- remaining one of the world's lowest but marking a small rise from the previous year on the back of a rise in marriages.