The American version of 'Ouyang Feng': the 'snake venom expert' who self-experiments
Tim Fried, an American man, can be considered a real-life 'Ouyang Feng', but his goal is not to dominate the martial arts world but to save lives. This self-proclaimed 'snake venom expert' has injected himself with snake venom hundreds of times over the past 18 years and deliberately allowed venomous snakes to bite him, attempting to develop immunity to snake venom in this way.
The 'mad' journey of self-experimentation
Fried has been fascinated by reptiles and venom since childhood; he once kept dozens of venomous snakes at his home in Wisconsin. To protect himself from snake bites, he began experimenting with injecting small amounts of venom to build immunity. Initially, he injected minute quantities of venom, gradually increasing the dosage until he could withstand bites from highly venomous snakes like the black mamba, cobra, and water moccasin. He even documented the moments he was bitten by venomous snakes on YouTube, including the thrilling scenes of being bitten multiple times by the Papuan New Guinea taipan and black mamba.
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Research results akin to 'Shennong tasting hundreds of herbs'
Fried's 'self-experimentation' is not without significance. His blood produced antibodies that can neutralize multiple snake venoms, giving scientists hope for developing new types of anti-snake venom serum. Researchers isolated two types of antibodies from his blood and combined them with a snake venom-blocking drug to develop an anti-snake venom serum. In mouse trials, this serum was effective against venom from 19 types of venomous snakes. The potential of this new anti-snake venom serum is enormous, as it not only neutralizes various snake venoms but could also avoid the side effects associated with traditional anti-snake venoms due to the use of animal antibodies.
From 'snake venom fanatic' to biopharmaceutical expert
Fried's 'snake venom journey' has not been smooth sailing. He has been hospitalized multiple times due to snake bites and even had to amputate part of his fingers. Nevertheless, his efforts eventually paid off. He was hired by the California biopharmaceutical company Centivax and donated 40 milliliters of blood to the company. Now, he is working with scientists to develop this new type of anti-snake venom serum, hoping to save more people facing life-threatening situations due to snake bites.
A respectable scientific spirit
If Fried is compared to the American version of 'Ouyang Feng', then he is definitely a 'positive energy' Ouyang Feng. He does not use venom to harm others but uses his own body to explore new methods of anti-snake venom for humanity. If he is likened to 'Shennong', then he is a modern version of 'Shennong tasting hundreds of herbs', except he is tasting snake venom. However, he himself also cautions everyone: 'Do not imitate me.'