Ashely Alker is an emergency physician and author of 99 Ways to Die: And How to Avoid Them.

The most venomous sea creatures to avoid

Conditions and Diseases
January 5, 2026

An excerpt from 99 Ways to Die: And How to Avoid Them.

In response to this chapter, I expect to receive a battery of soaking wet letters from infuriated marine biologists, since each species deserves their own chapter, but my editor cut me off.

Flamboyant cuttlefish

The flamboyant cuttlefish is not to be confused with the flamboyant cuddle-fish, which does not exist. The cuttlefish, Metasepia pfefferi, looks like an orchid that ran …

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The most venomous sea creatures to avoid

A physician at TEDMED 2015: Here’s the topic that stood out

Physician
November 19, 2015

The one question every medical school admissions committee will ultimately ask: “Why do you want to be a doctor?” As if the many overqualified and seemingly undervalued applicants rejected each year do not have a sufficient answer. My answer was stereotypical, but I meant it.

“I want to help people.”

Four years later, I am a University of California, San Diego emergency medicine resident. And I am also fortunate to be a …

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A physician at TEDMED 2015: Here’s the topic that stood out