logo
Man who let snakes bite him 200 times spurs new antivenom hope

Man who let snakes bite him 200 times spurs new antivenom hope

eNCAa day ago

PARIS - Tim Friede was feeling particularly down on the day after the September 11 attacks, so he went to his basement and let two of the world's deadliest snakes bite him.
Four days later, he woke up from a coma.
"I know what it feels like to die from snakebite," Friede told AFP via video call from his home in the small US town of Two Rivers, Wisconsin.
This experience might put most people off snakes entirely, but Friede simply vowed to be more careful next time.
From 2000 to 2018, he allowed himself to be bitten by snakes more than 200 times. He also injected himself with their venom over 650 times.
Friede endured this pain because he wanted to achieve total immunity to venom, a practice called mithridatism which should not be tried at home.
After a couple of years, Friede started to believe he could be the basis for a better kind of antivenom. The former truck mechanic, who does not have a university degree, long struggled to be taken seriously by scientists.
But last month, a study published in the prestigious Cell journal showed that antibodies from his blood protect against a range of snake venom.
The researchers now hope Friede's hyper-immunity could even lead to the development of a universal antivenom.
AFP/File | Tony KARUMBA
This would fill a major need, because currently, most antivenoms only cover one or a few of the world's 600 venomous snakes.
Up to 138,000 people are killed by snakebites a year, while 400,000 suffer amputations or other disabilities, according to the World Health Organization.
These figures are believed to be vastly underestimated because snakebite victims typically live in poorer, remote areas.
- 'Pain every time' -
Friede's first bite was from a harmless garter snake when he was five years old.
"I was afraid, I cried, I ran away," said Friede, now 57.
Then he started bringing snakes home and hiding them in pickle jars. His mother sought counselling, but his interest in snakes persisted.
Things escalated after Friede attended a class that taught him how to "milk" snakes for their venom.
How antivenom is made has changed little over the last 125 years.
Small doses of snake venom are injected into animals such as horses, which produce antibodies that can be extracted and used as antivenom.
However, this antivenom usually only works for bites from that particular species of snake -- and it includes other antibodies from a horse that can cause serious side-effects, including anaphylactic shock.
"I thought, well, if they make antivenom in horses, why can't I just use myself as a primate?" Friede said.
He started working through the venom from all the deadly species he could get his hands on, such as cobras, taipans, black mambas and rattlesnakes.
"There is pain every time," he said.
- 'Proud' -
For years, the scientists he contacted to take advantage of his immunity refused to bite.
Then in 2017, immunologist Jacob Glanville, who previously worked on universal vaccines, turned his attention towards antivenom.
Glanville told AFP he had been looking for "a clumsy snake researcher who'd been bit accidentally a couple times," when he came across a video of Friede taking brutal back-to-back snake bites.
When they first spoke, Glanville said he told Friede: "I know this is awkward, but I would love to get my hands on some of your blood."
AFP/File | Tony KARUMBA
"I've been waiting for this call for a long time," came the response, Glanville said.
The antivenom described in the Cell paper includes two antibodies from Friede's blood, as well as a drug called varespladib.
It offered mice full protection against 13 of the 19 snake species tested, and partial protection for the remaining six.
The researchers hope a future cocktail will cover far more snakes -- particularly vipers -- with further trials planned on dogs in Australia.
Timothy Jackson of the Australian Venom Research Unit praised the immunological research, but questioned whether a human needed to be involved, pointing to synthetically developed antibodies.
Glanville said the ultimate goal of his US-based firm Centivax was to develop a universal antivenom administered by something like an EpiPen, potentially produced in India to keep the costs down.
Friede said he was "proud" to have made a "small difference" in medical history.
Now working for Centivax, Friede stopped self-inflicting himself with venom in 2018 to save the firm from liability issues.
But he hopes to get bitten by snakes again in the future.
"I do miss it," he said.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Man who let snakes bite him 200 times spurs new antivenom hope
Man who let snakes bite him 200 times spurs new antivenom hope

eNCA

timea day ago

  • eNCA

Man who let snakes bite him 200 times spurs new antivenom hope

PARIS - Tim Friede was feeling particularly down on the day after the September 11 attacks, so he went to his basement and let two of the world's deadliest snakes bite him. Four days later, he woke up from a coma. "I know what it feels like to die from snakebite," Friede told AFP via video call from his home in the small US town of Two Rivers, Wisconsin. This experience might put most people off snakes entirely, but Friede simply vowed to be more careful next time. From 2000 to 2018, he allowed himself to be bitten by snakes more than 200 times. He also injected himself with their venom over 650 times. Friede endured this pain because he wanted to achieve total immunity to venom, a practice called mithridatism which should not be tried at home. After a couple of years, Friede started to believe he could be the basis for a better kind of antivenom. The former truck mechanic, who does not have a university degree, long struggled to be taken seriously by scientists. But last month, a study published in the prestigious Cell journal showed that antibodies from his blood protect against a range of snake venom. The researchers now hope Friede's hyper-immunity could even lead to the development of a universal antivenom. AFP/File | Tony KARUMBA This would fill a major need, because currently, most antivenoms only cover one or a few of the world's 600 venomous snakes. Up to 138,000 people are killed by snakebites a year, while 400,000 suffer amputations or other disabilities, according to the World Health Organization. These figures are believed to be vastly underestimated because snakebite victims typically live in poorer, remote areas. - 'Pain every time' - Friede's first bite was from a harmless garter snake when he was five years old. "I was afraid, I cried, I ran away," said Friede, now 57. Then he started bringing snakes home and hiding them in pickle jars. His mother sought counselling, but his interest in snakes persisted. Things escalated after Friede attended a class that taught him how to "milk" snakes for their venom. How antivenom is made has changed little over the last 125 years. Small doses of snake venom are injected into animals such as horses, which produce antibodies that can be extracted and used as antivenom. However, this antivenom usually only works for bites from that particular species of snake -- and it includes other antibodies from a horse that can cause serious side-effects, including anaphylactic shock. "I thought, well, if they make antivenom in horses, why can't I just use myself as a primate?" Friede said. He started working through the venom from all the deadly species he could get his hands on, such as cobras, taipans, black mambas and rattlesnakes. "There is pain every time," he said. - 'Proud' - For years, the scientists he contacted to take advantage of his immunity refused to bite. Then in 2017, immunologist Jacob Glanville, who previously worked on universal vaccines, turned his attention towards antivenom. Glanville told AFP he had been looking for "a clumsy snake researcher who'd been bit accidentally a couple times," when he came across a video of Friede taking brutal back-to-back snake bites. When they first spoke, Glanville said he told Friede: "I know this is awkward, but I would love to get my hands on some of your blood." AFP/File | Tony KARUMBA "I've been waiting for this call for a long time," came the response, Glanville said. The antivenom described in the Cell paper includes two antibodies from Friede's blood, as well as a drug called varespladib. It offered mice full protection against 13 of the 19 snake species tested, and partial protection for the remaining six. The researchers hope a future cocktail will cover far more snakes -- particularly vipers -- with further trials planned on dogs in Australia. Timothy Jackson of the Australian Venom Research Unit praised the immunological research, but questioned whether a human needed to be involved, pointing to synthetically developed antibodies. Glanville said the ultimate goal of his US-based firm Centivax was to develop a universal antivenom administered by something like an EpiPen, potentially produced in India to keep the costs down. Friede said he was "proud" to have made a "small difference" in medical history. Now working for Centivax, Friede stopped self-inflicting himself with venom in 2018 to save the firm from liability issues. But he hopes to get bitten by snakes again in the future. "I do miss it," he said.

Kenya NGO saves turtles from nets, plastic and rising tides
Kenya NGO saves turtles from nets, plastic and rising tides

eNCA

time2 days ago

  • eNCA

Kenya NGO saves turtles from nets, plastic and rising tides

WATAMU - A small charity on the Kenyan coast has become vital to the region's majestic turtle population, saving thousands from poachers, fishermen's nets and ever-worsening plastic pollution. On the beach of the seaside town of Watamu, it takes four men to heave the huge Loggerhead sea turtle into the back of a car. She has just been saved from a fishing tackle and will be taken to a nearby clinic to be checked for injuries, then weighed, tagged and released back into the sea. A Kenyan NGO, Local Ocean Conservation (LOC), has been doing this work for almost three decades and has carried out some 24,000 rescues. "Every time I release a turtle, it's a really great joy for me. My motivation gets stronger and stronger," said Fikiri Kiponda, who has been part of LOC's 20-odd staff for 16 years. LOC began life in 1997 as a group of volunteers who hated seeing the creatures being eaten or dying in nets. Turtles are still poached for their shells, meat and oil. AFP | Fredrik Lerneryd But through the charity's awareness campaigns in schools and villages, "perceptions have significantly changed", said Kiponda. LOC, which relies mostly on donations, compensates fishermen for bringing them injured turtles. More than 1,000 fishermen participate in the scheme and mostly do so for the sake of conservation, the charity emphasises, since the reward does not offset the hours of lost labour. - Floating turtles - At the NGO's nearby clinic, health coordinator Lameck Maitha, 34, says turtles are often treated for broken bones and tumours caused by a disease called Fibropapillomatosis. AFP | Fredrik Lerneryd One current in-patient is Safari, a young Olive Ridley turtle around 15 years old -- turtles can live beyond 100 -- transported by plane from further up the coast. She arrived in a dire state, barely alive and with a bone protruding from her flipper, which ultimately had to be amputated -- likely the result of fighting to free herself from a fisherman's net. Safari has been recovering well and the clinic hopes she can return to the sea. Other frequent tasks include removing barnacles that embed themselves in shells and flippers, weakening their host. But a growing danger is plastic pollution. AFP | Fredrik Lerneryd If a turtle eats plastic, it can create a blockage that in turn creates gas, making the turtle float and unable to dive. In these cases, the clinic gives the turtle laxatives to clear out its system. "We are seeing more and more floating turtles because the ocean has so much plastic," said Maitha. - Survivors - LOC also works to protect 50 to 100 nesting sites, threatened by rising sea levels. AFP | Fredrik Lerneryd Turtles travel far and wide but always lay their eggs on the beach where they were born, and Watamu is one of the most popular spots. Every three or four years, they produce hundreds of eggs, laid during multiple sessions over several months, that hatch after around 60 days. The charity often relocates eggs that have been laid too close to the sea. Marine biologist Joey Ngunu, LOC's technical manager, always calls the first to appear Kevin. "And once Kevin comes out, the rest follow," he said with a smile, describing the slow, clumsy procession to the water, preferably at night to avoid predators as much as possible. AFP | Fredrik Lerneryd

Trump-Musk showdown threatens US space plans
Trump-Musk showdown threatens US space plans

eNCA

time2 days ago

  • eNCA

Trump-Musk showdown threatens US space plans

WASHINGTON - SpaceX's rockets ferry US astronauts to the International Space Station. Its Starlink satellite constellation blankets the globe with broadband, and the company is embedded in some of the Pentagon's most sensitive projects, including tracking hypersonic missiles. So when President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday to cancel Elon Musk's federal contracts, space watchers snapped to attention. Musk, the world's richest person, shot back that he would mothball Dragon -- the capsule NASA relies on for crew flights -- before retracting the threat a few hours later. For now, experts say mutual dependence should keep a full-blown rupture at bay, but the episode exposes just how disruptive any break could be. Founded in 2002, SpaceX leapfrogged legacy contractors to become the world's dominant launch provider. Driven by Musk's ambition to make humanity multiplanetary, it is now NASA's sole means of sending astronauts to the ISS -- a symbol of post–Cold War cooperation and a testbed for deeper space missions. - Space monopoly? - The company has completed 10 regular crew rotations to the orbiting lab and is contracted for four more, under a deal worth nearly $5 billion. That's just part of a broader portfolio that includes $4 billion from NASA for developing Starship, the next-generation megarocket; nearly $6 billion from the Space Force for launch services; and a reported $1.8 billion for Starshield, a classified spy satellite network. Were Dragon grounded, the United States would again be forced to rely on Russian Soyuz rockets for ISS access -- as it did between 2011 and 2020, following the Space Shuttle's retirement and before Crew Dragon entered service. "Under the current geopolitical climate, that would not be optimal," space analyst Laura Forczyk told AFP. NASA had hoped Boeing's Starliner would provide redundancy, but persistent delays -- and a failed crewed test last year -- have kept it grounded. Even Northrop Grumman's cargo missions now rely on SpaceX's Falcon 9, the workhorse of its rocket fleet. The situation also casts a shadow over NASA's Artemis program. A lunar lander variant of Starship is slated for Artemis III and IV, the next US crewed Moon missions. If Starship were sidelined, rival Blue Origin could benefit -- but the timeline would almost certainly slip, giving China, which aims to land humans by 2030, a chance to get there first, Forczyk warned. "There are very few launch vehicles as capable as Falcon 9 -- it isn't feasible to walk away as easily as President Trump might assume," she said. NASA, meanwhile, appeared eager to show that it had options. "NASA is assessing the earliest potential for a Starliner flight to the International Space Station in early 2026, pending system certification and resolution of Starliner's technical issues," the agency said in a statement Friday to AFP. Still, the feud could sour Trump on space altogether, Forczyk cautioned, complicating NASA's long-term plans. SpaceX isn't entirely dependent on the US government. Starlink subscriptions and commercial launches account for a significant share of its revenue, and the company also flies private missions. The next, with partner Axiom Space, will carry astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary, funded by their respective governments. - Private power, public risk - But losing US government contracts would still be a major blow. "It's such a doomsday scenario for both parties that it's hard to envision how US space efforts would fill the gap," Clayton Swope, deputy director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told AFP. "Both sides have every reason to bridge the disagreement and get back to business." Signs of a rift emerged last weekend, when the White House abruptly withdrew its nomination of e-payments billionaire Jared Isaacman -- a close Musk ally who has twice flown to space with SpaceX -- as NASA administrator. On a recent podcast, Isaacman said he believed he was dropped because "some people had some axes to grind, and I was a good, visible target." The broader episode could also reignite debate over Washington's reliance on commercial partners, particularly when one company holds such a dominant position. Swope noted that while the US government has long favoured buying services from industry, military leaders tend to prefer owning the systems they depend on. "This is just another data point that might bolster the case for why it can be risky," he said. "I think that seed has been planted in a lot of people's minds -- that it might not be worth the trust."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store