Latest Snakes Stories

Warmer weather coaxes snakes out of hiding, and it’s important to know what to do after a snake bite, according to a medical toxicologist at Baylor College of Medicine. "Many people don’t realize how much of an issue snake bites are in this area of the country," said Dr. Spencer Greene, director of medical toxicology and assistant professor of medicine - emergency medicine at BCM. "In fact, our regional poison center reported 235 snake bites - including 148 from known venomous snakes -...

The powerful venom of the saw-scaled viper Echis carinatus contains both anticoagulants and coagulants finds a study published in the launch edition of BioMed Central's open access journal Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases (JVATiTD). These may be a source of potent drugs to treat human disease. The saw-scaled viper family Echis, responsible for most snake attacks on humans, are recognizable by the 'sizzling' noise they make, produced by rubbing together...

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online The venom from one of the world’s most dangerous snakes contains a potent painkiller that works as well as morphine, but without the toxic side effects, French researchers reported on Wednesday. The deadly black mamba, which uses neurotoxins to paralyze and kill its prey, is one of the fastest and most lethal snakes in Africa. Its venom is among the fastest acting of any snake species, and a bite is lethal if not treated with...

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Scientists are studying various plants native to Africa in an attempt to develop new, natural treatments for snakebites. Marianne Molander from the University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences has been working with a Danish team to try and find a locally available herbal antidote for snake venom. “Snake venom antidotes are expensive, it’s often a long way to the nearest doctor and it can be difficult to...

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online New analysis of what is being called one of the most primitive snake fossils ever discovered suggests that the reptilian creatures may have developed their unique look on land, not in water. Nicholas Longrich of Yale University and his colleagues studied recently discovered fossils of the Coniophis precedens, an ancient protosnake that lived alongside dinosaurs some 65 to 70 million years ago, according to BBC News reports....

[ Watch the Video ] New Robot is Designed to Use Less Energy Designing an all-terrain robot for search-and-rescue missions is an arduous task for scientists. The machine must be flexible enough to move over uneven surfaces, yet not so big that it’s restricted from tight spaces. It might also be required to climb slopes of varying inclines. Existing robots can do many of these things, but the majority require large amounts of energy and are prone to overheating. Georgia Tech...

Examining venom from a variety of poisonous snakes, a group of researchers at the University of California, San Francisco has discovered why the bite of one small black, yellow and red serpent called the Texas coral snake can be so painful. The finding offers insights into chronic and acute pain – and provides new research tools that may help pharmaceutical companies design drugs to combat pain. The venom contains a toxic mixture of chemicals that includes two special proteins that...

Marsupials that prey on venomous snakes also evolve rapidlyResearch published recently in PLoS One delivers new insight about rapid toxin evolution in venomous snakes: pitvipers such as rattlesnakes may be engaged in an arms race with opossums, a group of snake-eating American marsupials. Although some mammals have long been known to eat venomous snakes, this fact has not been factored into previous explanations for the rapid evolution of snake venom. Instead, snake venom is usually seen as a...

Researchers in Australia have found that a chemical compound typically used on heart patients may raise chances of survival for snakebite victims.The study, published in Nature Medicine, claims chemical nitric oxide can slow down, by as much as 50 percent, the time it takes for snake venom to enter the bloodstream allowing time for victims to seek medical help, said lead author Dirk van Helden, professor at the School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Newcastle in Australia.Reuters...

The biophysics of snakebitesFor years Professor Leo von Hemmen, a biophysicist at the TU Muenchen, and Professor Bruce Young, a biologist at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, have been researching the sense of hearing in snakes. While discussing the toxicity of their snakes, it dawned on them that only few snakes inject their venom into their victims' bodies using hollow poison fangs. Yet, even though the vast majority of poisonous reptiles lack hollow fangs, they are effective...