A new breed of obsessive scientists is trying to engineer better antidotes to snakebites, which kill 100,000 people a year. But venom is a wily target.
Even in a test tube, snake venom is terrifying.
Mix a few beads of venom from a deadly Indian krait with blood cells and, within an instant, the clear liquid will turn bright red as toxins blast through the cells, rupturing their membranes. One look tells you more than you want to know about the excruciating pain of a snakebite.
