Elapid snake venom

Texas Teacher Apologizes for Feeding Kitten to Classroom Snake

Alvord ISD officials confirmed that an Advanced Animal Science teacher fed an ailing kitten to a snake. The incident occurred before the school day and without students present, but the teacher later acknowledged the decision to the class. The teacher, who has apologized, has removed all snakes from the classroom after the district investigated the report, consulting with legal counsel and animal control. While the incident upset some students, the district has addressed the issue.

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Man’s 200 Snake Bites Yield Potential Universal Antivenom

Antibodies discovered in the blood of Tim Friede, a man who self-injected snake venom for 18 years, have yielded an unprecedented antivenom. This antivenom, effective against a broad range of elapid snakes in animal testing, targets common neurotoxin components rather than species-specific ones. Current antivenoms require a precise match to the biting snake, unlike this potential universal treatment. This breakthrough offers significant hope for addressing the annual death toll of up to 140,000 from snakebites.

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