Skip to content
Science Vs Snakes episode artwork

Mar 30, 2021 37 min

Science Vs Snakes

from 99% Invisible Hosted by Roman Mars, Wendy Zukerman, Chris Berube, Blythe Terrell

More than 100,000 people die every year from snake bites. Snake venom can have up to 200 different toxins inside it and each toxin has a different horrible effect to your body. Some attack your muscles, while others attack your nerves. And sometimes two different toxins can work together to form an even more sinister combination. Part of the reason people are dying is because they're not getting antivenom - the medicine required to fight these horrible toxins - fast enough. The system we have to create snake antivenom is a time-consuming and inefficient process that basically hasn't changed for more than 100 years. This is a collaboration with the great podcast Science Vs from Gimlet Science Vs Snakes Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

Episode details come from the podcast's RSS feed.

Embed this episode

More than 100,000 people die every year from snake bites. Part of the reason people are dying is because they're not getting antivenom - the medicine required to fight the horrible toxins in snake venom- fast enough.

Ready to play

Science Vs Snakes

0:00 37:01

No transcript yet.

Requests help us decide what to transcribe next.

Frequently asked questions

How long is this episode of 99% Invisible?

This episode is 37 minutes long.

When was this 99% Invisible episode published?

This episode was published on March 30, 2021.

Can I download this 99% Invisible episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.