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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, @05:34PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 12 2017, @05:34PM (#595941)

    I think they used to make snake antivenin this way but using horses. This guy is apparently a proxy for the rear end of a horse. If using humans to make antivenin has a commercial future, we're all at risk, especially immigrants, the poor, and the desperate. It's almost a good idea.