Editing Hydrogen peroxide (section)

===Function===
[[File:Pheropsophus verticalis 01 Pengo.jpg|thumb|130px|Australian [[bombardier beetle]]]]Eggs of [[sea urchin]], shortly after fertilization by a sperm, produce hydrogen peroxide. It is then converted to [[hydroxyl radical]]s (HO•), which initiate [[radical polymerization]], which surrounds the eggs with a protective layer of [[polymer]].

The [[bombardier beetle]] combines [[hydroquinone]] and hydrogen peroxide, leading to a violent [[exothermic]] [[chemical reaction]] to produce boiling, foul-smelling liquid that partially becomes a [[gas]] ([[flash evaporation]]) and is expelled through an outlet valve with a loud popping sound.<ref>{{cite journal| vauthors = Schildknecht H, Holoubek K |title=The bombardier beetle and its chemical explosion|journal=Angewandte Chemie|volume=73|pages=1–7|year=1961|doi=10.1002/ange.19610730102}}</ref><ref name="ncse">{{cite journal |vauthors = Weber CG |title=The Bombardier Beetle Myth Exploded |journal=Creation/Evolution |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=1–5 |date=Winter 1981 |url=https://ncse.com/cej/2/1/bombardier-beetle-myth-exploded |access-date=12 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929125624/https://ncse.com/cej/2/1/bombardier-beetle-myth-exploded |archive-date=29 September 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="to">{{cite web |vauthors = Isaak M |date=30 May 2003 |title=Bombardier Beetles and the Argument of Design |website=[[TalkOrigins Archive]] |url=https://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/bombardier.html |access-date=12 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116235917/https://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/bombardier.html |archive-date=16 November 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

As a proposed [[signaling molecule]], hydrogen peroxide may regulate a wide variety of biological processes.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors = Veal EA, Day AM, Morgan BA |title = Hydrogen peroxide sensing and signaling |journal = Molecular Cell |volume = 26 |issue = 1 |pages = 1–14 |date = April 2007 |pmid = 17434122 |doi = 10.1016/j.molcel.2007.03.016 |doi-access = free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Wie Pflanzen sich schützen, Helmholtz-Institute of Biochemical Plant Pathology (in German)|url=https://www.helmholtz-muenchen.de/biop/printversionen/pdf/aktuelles/pflanzenschuetzen_no.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723120528/https://www.helmholtz-muenchen.de/biop/printversionen/pdf/aktuelles/pflanzenschuetzen_no.pdf|archive-date=23 July 2011|access-date=14 February 2022|publisher=Helmholtz-Institute of Biochemical Plant Pathology|language=de}}</ref> At least one study has tried to link hydrogen peroxide production to cancer.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors = López-Lázaro M |title = Dual role of hydrogen peroxide in cancer: possible relevance to cancer chemoprevention and therapy |journal = Cancer Letters |volume = 252 |issue = 1 |pages = 1–8 |date = July 2007 |pmid = 17150302 |doi = 10.1016/j.canlet.2006.10.029}}</ref>