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posted by Fnord666 on Saturday November 11 2017, @06:04PM   Printer-friendly
from the don't-try-thisssss-at-home dept.

For nearly 30 years, London-based reptile enthusiast and musician Steve Ludwin has been injecting snake venom—a practice that has almost killed him.

It may now help save thousands of lives, as researchers search for a new antidote based on his body's response to the toxic fluids.

"It sounds very crazy what I am doing but it turns out that it potentially has lots of health benefits," Ludwin, the tattooed 51-year-old told AFP in the living room of his home in the British capital.

Ludwin demonstrated his decades-old habit by firmly holding the head of a green Pope's tree viper—Trimeresurus popeiorum—and extracting a few drops of its venom.

Minutes later, he has injected the fluid into his arm using a syringe.

The scientists hope to produce cheaper anti-venom from the antibodies in his blood.

[Please note that this is very dangerous and Mr. Ludwin has almost died a number of times. Don't try this at home! - Ed]


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 12 2017, @05:04PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 12 2017, @05:04PM (#595929)
    Guess you haven't been seriously bitten by a poisonous snake?

    Because if you did you'd probably consider it a deadly snake bite even if you survived... ;)

    It might not have been a lethal snake bite but it would have been quite deadly.