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Fang Me In The Vein!: New Painkillers From Snake Venom

October 4, 2012 / drugs, drugs and alcohol, i have handled venomous snakes before true story, i'm in, medicine, one time around the campfire my uncle told this story of a kid who got bit by a snake in the eyeball and then his eyeball swelled up and shot out of his skull like a rocket (i didn't sleep that night), snakes, snakes -- why'd it have to be snakes? (i love you indy!), sounds good to me, sounds promising, sure why not, venom

snake-venom-pain-killers.jpg

In 'Just bite me now' news, scientists are hard at work developing new ultra-powerful painkillers from a peptide found in black mamba venom. And I, for one, plan on testing these new drugs and zoning out to Home Shopping Network for six hours straight. "The TV isn't even on." Haha -- so it isn't!

Named "mambalgins," these peptides block acute and inflammatory pain in mice as well as morphine does, according to a new study.


As a bonus, mambalgins did not have the risky side effect of respiratory depression that morphine does. And the mice developed less tolerance to them over time than is typical with morphine.

Just don't try extracting any of this venom in the wild. There is antivenom for the black mamba snake's bite, but it is not always available, and without it, the bites are usually fatal.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? "Probably not." We go wrangle ourselves some black mambas and make us SOME DURGS. "It's drugs, and did you not read the last paragraph of the quote you copied?" Reading's for fools man, let's go get bit by snakes!

Thanks to Melissa and Rev Dr Dom, who have never been bitten by venomous snakes but have been bitten by vampires but didn't turn into vampires because they circle, circle, dot-dotted themselves real quick right afterwards.

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There are Comments
  • ZomBBombeR

    Seems safe enough.

  • Lee Tan

    Love the irony of how certain medicines were derived from poisons that were supposed to subdue prey, others were made from fungus (penicillin).

  • BillGatesIsYourDaddy

    I remember reading a story about a snake farmer that had all different types of snakes that he raised to collect the venom and sold to companies to make anti-venom. He used to regularly inject small doses of venom into his body to normally build a tolerance to a snake bite. now he is naturally immune to even black mambas and king cobras.

  • Guest

    I feel I can really use this -- has one 'ell o' a toothache. I rather have snake venom drug than see the dentist on Monday. XD

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