RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT 12 August 2026 A mixture of proteins in snake blood can prevent the death of mice injected with an otherwise lethal dose of venom. Western diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) blood contains proteins that can staunch bleeding and prevent tissue degradation. Credit: Rolf Nussbaumer/Nature Picture Library Globally, snakebites kill 80,000 to 140,000 people a