Latex is the stable dispersion (emulsion) of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.

Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperms). It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins, and gums that coagulates on exposure to air. It is usually exuded after tissue injury. In most plants, latex is white, but some have yellow, orange, or scarlet latex. Since the 17th century, latex has been used as a term for the fluid substance in plants. It serves mainly as defense against herbivorous insects. Many people are allergic to latex.

The word is also used to refer to natural latex rubber; particularly for non-vulcanized rubber. Such is the case in products like latex gloves, latex condoms and latex clothing.

It can also be made synthetically by polymerizing a monomer such as styrene that has been emulsified with surfactants.

The cells (laticifers) in which latex is found make up the laticiferous system, which can form in two very different ways. In many plants, the laticiferous system is formed from rows of cells laid down in the meristem of the stem or root. The cell walls between these cells are dissolved so that continuous tubes, called latex vessels, are formed. Since these vessels are made of many cells, they are known as articulated laticifers. This method of formation is found in the poppy family, in the rubber trees (Para rubber tree and Castilla elastica), and in the Cichorieae, a clade in the Family Asteraceae distinguished by the presence of latex in its members. It is also found in Taraxacum kok-saghyz. It is also present in another member of the Asteraceae, the guayule plant.

The Red Skull is a name shared by several fictional characters, all supervillains from the Marvel Comics universe. All incarnations of the character are enemies of Captain America, other superheroes, and the United States in general.

The first two Red Skulls are Nazi agents and the third is a Soviet agent. The Red Skull was first introduced in Captain America Comics #1 in 1941. The first Red Skull (George Maxon) to appear in comics was an American industrialist turned Nazi saboteur. Maxon turned out to be an agent of the true Red Skull (Johann Schmidt), considered (according to S.H.I.E.L.D.) as one of the greatest threats to humanity, and a long-time archenemy of Captain America. The third Red Skull (Albert Malik) is best known for causing the deaths of the parents of Peter Parker, and thus orphaning the boy who would become Spider-Man. The Red Skull was ranked number 21 on Wizard Magazine's Top 100 Greatest Villains Ever list and was also ranked as IGN's 14th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.