Danish scientists study the blood of American rock musician Stephen Ludwin to find antibodies to snake venom. Over the past 25 years, a man who is fond of serpentology has regularly injected himself with poison, according to the Internet portal videnskab.dk.
The rocker himself admits that he has experienced the venoms of about 35 species of snakes. Not all experiments ended successfully - Stephen was hospitalized several times and was treated for necrotic tissue damage.
But his body tolerated most of the poisons well, and the cobra's poison even gave strength and noticeably invigorated.
Brian Lohse, associate professor of pharmacology at Copenhagen University, called Ludwin's case a miracle - most people in his place would have already died from allergic shock or damage to the kidneys and bones.
Studying blood samples, cerebrospinal fluid and DNA of the experimenter will help scientists to isolate antibodies to various snake venoms. After all, earlier technologies were used for this, tested back in the 19th century - microdoses of the poison were injected into horses, whose body is much more enduring than a human, they waited for the production of antibodies and received purified serum.
“Previously, we used antibodies and peptides from animals, but working with Steve's samples gives us a unique opportunity because we can immediately receive antibodies produced by the human body and copy them into our catalog,” said Dr. Lohse.
Ladvin himself notes that he does not have a special biological education, which did not prevent him from working as a caretaker in one of the London serpentariums and keeping dozens of snakes at home. However, he strongly discourages anyone from repeating his experience.