Man’s Snake Venom Immunity Inspires Groundbreaking Antivenom
A novel way to treat snakebites has been discovered through an unlikely collaboration between a scientist and a man who spent nearly 20 years self-immunizing himself by exposing his body to snake venom. Immunologist Jacob Glanville identified Tim Friede, a self-taught snake handler who had injected himself with venom from some of the deadliest snakes on the planet — culturing himself to snake venom as if it were poison ivy and even permitting snakebites at one point — all to gradually build his immune system.