Australia has some of the world’s deadliest fauna. A new library hopes to store samples of these creatures’ venom. Snakes, octopus, spiders, and even platypus will be caught and milked, reports the Guardian, and the venom will be stored in the library for researchers to access. The goal is to make the development of anti-venom easier. So far, venom from 12 snakes has been catalogued.
A Library of Venom
Ian MacAllen
Ian MacAllen is the author of Red Sauce: How Italian Food Became American (Rowman & Littlefield, April 2022). His writing has appeared in Chicago Review of Books, Southern Review of Books, The Offing, 45th Parallel Magazine, Little Fiction, Vol 1. Brooklyn, and elsewhere. He tweets @IanMacAllen and is online at IanMacAllen.com.