Mitridatism—poison against poison

• Mithridatism, a practice of ingesting small, non-lethal doses of poison, has been practiced for millennia.

• Scientists have developed safer ways to protect the body against toxins, such as vaccines.

• Timothy Friede, an American man, subjected himself to over 200 snakebites and 700 venom injections over 18 years to immunize himself against their deadly effects.

• Researchers found that a combination of antibodies in Friede’s blood and varespladib could shield mice against 13 kinds of venom and partially defend against six more.

• This is a step towards neutralising antibodies, drugs that can defend against most, if not all, venoms.