Quote:The answer is meant to be implicit in what I said - they get in every cell the same way the mitochondria do.
Kind of avoided my question on how did they manage to get organelles into every cell. the whole organellivous thing was conjecture there... the organelles you mentioned happen to have evolved together that way a number of years with a large group of zeros following it ago, when cells first evolved. I'm asking about a new one being introduced... any idea how they do it
The precursors inject suitable organelles into egg cells, before fertilising them and implanting them into a womb, possibly artificial. In subsequent generations, the organelles are there, in every cell, from the moment of conception.
The organelles can also take care of any toxins which bypasss the liver. Consider too, people are pretty large animals. For small animals to be dangerous, with the miniscule amount of venom they can inject, the toxins do have to be fine tuned to affect terran biochemistry. Large animals, fox sized and upwards, can inject enough venom to do damage with broad spectrum toxins, but such animals will be rarer, and easier to kill off.
Acids damage sugars and proteins - a chemical reaction - so all plants containing harmful levels of acid is not plausible. They may contain lots of weak acid, as with citrus fruits, but people eat lemons.
There will probably be a few plants which, like poison ivy, cause blisters, but not everything. Star Trek is not a relaible guide to scientific accuracy.