For many years, the snake bit him. His blood may help create new antivenom: Shortwave: NPR

Egyptian Cobra (Naha) is a deadly venomous snake. Its bites are one of the multiples that can be treated with the new universal antivenom. Michele D'Amico/Getty Images Closed subtitles

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Michele D'Amico/Getty Images

Egyptian Cobra (Naha) is a deadly venomous snake. Its bites are one of the multiples that can be treated with the new universal antivenom.

Michele D'Amico/Getty Images

What does it feel like to be bitten by a poisonous snake?

"It's like a thousand times bees," Tim Friede said.

Fried will know. Over the past few decades, he has been bitten by various poisonous snakes - Black Mambas, Tautipa, Cobra, Brave and others. He called it his "fame."

The bite sent him to the ICU, putting him in a coma. But as time goes by, he gradually builds his immunity to a variety of venoms.

This made him wonder: Can his hobbies be used in the public interest? If he survives all these toxins, can scientists share his immunity with others, too?

The World Health Organization estimates that between one and three million snakes are bitten by venomous snakes every year. Among these people, thousands died; thousands were permanently disabled.

High-quality anti-venom is considered the most effective treatment for drug resistance. Those existing anti-venoms usually come from domestic animals like horses, which are injected with small amounts of specific venom to produce antibodies that recognize and neutralize toxins.

Researchers who have studied Friede's blood hopes can synthesize a treatment that can be used for many different kinds of venomous snake bites - a universal anti-snake venom.

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This episode was produced by Hannah Chinn and edited by our show host Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checks the facts. Jimmy Keeley is an audio engineer. Special thanks to Johannes Doerge.