Taipan venom could become life saver

Deadly taipan venom could be the new weapon in helping stop excessive bleeding during surgery or after major trauma.

A Queensland University of Technology researcher has identified a blood clotting protein in the snake's venom, which is being evaluated for clinical trials.

Dr Liam St Pierre says the protein is naturally produced by humans, but snakes produce a more stable and faster acting form of it.

"The unique thing about snake venom is that although snakes are reptiles they've evolved over time to develop this venom toxin which mimics the action of the mammalian factor 10, but in a much more stable and more rapid fashion to cause a blood clot," he said.

"In the case of its actions as a toxin it actually causes massive clots throughout the body of its prey which will eventually result in a heart attack."

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Sweet! I'm heading to college in the fall and I hope when I graduate I can study snake venom for uses just like this!

That's great. I think that while these advances probably won't do much to make the general public start embracing reptiles, it might at least demonstrate their value to humanity as well as the environment.
One company is currently working on getting a drug derived from a Malayan Pit VIper approved in the US for treating stroke victims, Gila Monster venom is being used to treat diabetes, and crocodile blood is being studied for it's powerful antibiotic properties.