Reason scientist allowed himself to be bitten by deadly snakes 200 times in wild experiment

An American man named Tim Friede has spent nearly two decades willingly letting some of the world’s deadliest snakes bite him about 200 times in total. That might sound unbelievable, but he did it with a serious goal in mind: to help create a universal antivenom that could save thousands of lives.

Friede, who is not a scientist by formal training, started this risky mission on his own. He believed that by repeatedly injecting himself with small amounts of snake venom, or even allowing snakes to bite him directly, he could build up an immunity in his body.

He was hoping this would protect him when handling dangerous snakes and maybe even grow his YouTube channel along the way. But things took a turn after one close call—two back-to-back bites from Egyptian cobras almost killed him.

That terrifying experience shifted his focus. He realized he could do more than protect just himself. If his body was developing strong antibodies from all the venom exposure, maybe his blood could help others too. And he was right. His blood has now been studied and scientists have found two special antibodies in it that can neutralize toxins from a variety of snake venoms.

Snake bites may not seem like a big deal in places where they’re rare, but globally, they kill around 140,000 people every year and seriously injure many more.

One of the biggest problems is that current antivenom treatments are outdated and often specific to only a few snake types. In fact, antivenoms today are still made using a 100-year-old method—involving injecting horses with venom, then using their blood to make the treatment.

Thanks to Friede’s efforts, researchers now have a new way forward. His antibodies have already helped mice survive potentially deadly venom from 13 out of 19 snake species tested. This opens the door to the development of a broader, more effective antivenom that could work against many types of snake bites.

Even though experts strongly warn others not to try what he did, Friede says he’s proud of his contribution. What started as a personal experiment has now turned into a potentially life-saving breakthrough. As he put it, helping people on the other side of the world who face the threat of deadly snakebites every day became his motivation. And now, that mission might just make a real difference.