KNAU update for July 5 — KNAU eNews: Emergency BBQ, Rattlesnake Venom, and More

Mohave rattlesnakes are armed with a powerful weapon—venom that can immobilize or kill their prey. People have believed the Mohave’s venom held a neurotoxin, a cocktail of enzymes and peptides that paralyze the nervous system—making a bite from this snake especially deadly. Learn more at KNAU.org.

Each time a new season rolls around, KNAU listener Rob Bettaso writes a fresh poem for our Poetry Friday series. This week, Rob celebrates all things summer, including hiking, hummingbirds and some of his favorite poets who also love the language of the sunshine season. Learn more at KNAU.org.

A bill in the U.S. Senate would expand compensation for those sickened by Cold War-era nuclear weapons testing and uranium mining. However, residents in some areas of the Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico and other states aren’t covered, along with miners who worked during much of the 1970s. Learn more at KNAU.org.

A young female fox, just shy of her first birthday, stunned scientists by covering an unbelievable distance during a short, four-month trek. They say she also set a speed record for her species. Learn more at NPR’s Strange New blog.

For eight years, a roving band of competitive barbecuers has traveled to emergency zones across the U.S., serving thousands of hot and tangy meals to people in need. Learn more at NPR’s food blog, The Salt.