Scientists develop gel made from snake venom to control heavy bleeding

Human beings are mortally afraid of snakes and more so from those whose venom is lethal! Yet, on the flip side their poison can trigger prompt action of stopping bleeding as per a report in smithsonianmag.com.

Scientists from Australia’s University of Queensland who deal in biomaterials have made a gel which can make blood clot not in minutes but in seconds! When available for use, this can be very beneficial for paramedics and armed forces personnel to check flow of blood from grievous injuries especially when the patient or the injured is being rushed for treatment.

Now what makes this gel so effective? The answer is the venom of not one but two of the world’s deadliest snakes. One is eastern brown snake or Pseudonaja textilis, a highly venomous viper found in the central and eastern regions of Australia and also southern New Guinea.

The other is the saw-scaled viper or Echis carinatus whose habitat is spread over Asia, Africa and West Asia. This relatively tiny reptile with very potent venom is found in peninsular India and northwest India including Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

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