SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
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]
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday November 11 2017, @06:15PM (2 children)
Not a new concept. Though Rasputin and others used a similar method, this snake guy is much more a fetishist than a pragmatist, with maso and possibly sado components of his personality. Which, as a libertarian, I don't see as being a necessarily negative thing.
Me too. But you know what my secret is? Actually getting sick as a kid and not getting vaccinated for anything in the past 15 years.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 11 2017, @06:26PM
Ninjas inject poison. They just don't allow themselves to get paraded around by media.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 12 2017, @05:10PM
Did you get lucky with stuff like polio?