The Egyptian cobra (Naja haje) is a deadly venomous snake native to Africa. Its chew is one among a number of that might be handled with a brand new common antivenom… developed from a human named Tim Friede.
Michele D’Amico/Getty Pictures
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Michele D’Amico/Getty Pictures
The Egyptian cobra (Naja haje) is a deadly venomous snake native to Africa. Its chew is one among a number of that might be handled with a brand new common antivenom… developed from a human named Tim Friede.
Michele D’Amico/Getty Pictures
What’s it prefer to get bit by a venomous snake?
“It is like a bee sting instances a thousand,” Tim Friede says.
Friede would know. Over the previous few many years, he is let himself be bitten over 2 hundred instances, by every kind of venomous snakes — black mambas, taipans, cobras, kraits, and extra. He calls it his “declare to fame.”
The bites have despatched him to the ICU, put him into comas and extra. However with time, he is step by step constructed up an immunity to a number of sorts of venom.
That made him marvel: Might this pastime of his be used for public good? If he survived all these toxins, might scientists share his immunity with different folks, too?
The World Health Organization estimates that yearly, between one and three million individuals are bitten by venomous snakes. Of these folks, tens of hundreds die; hundreds extra are completely disabled.
Prime quality antivenoms are thought-about the simplest remedy for envenomation. These current antivenoms normally come from home animals, like horses, which have been injected with small quantities of a particular venom to provide antibodies that establish and neutralize its toxins.
Researchers who studied Friede’s blood hope to synthesize a remedy that might be used for a number of totally different sorts of venomous snake bites — a common antivenom.
Need to hear about extra medical discoveries? Electronic mail us at shortwave@nprg.org to inform us what areas of science you would be focused on.
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This episode was produced by Hannah Chinn and edited by our showrunner, Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the details. Jimmy Keeley was the audio engineer. Particular due to Johannes Doerge.
