A western diamondback rattlesnake. Credit: Sean B. Carroll
University of Maryland researchers discovered a new approach to treating venomous snakebites—using the same toxin-blocking proteins that snakes evolved to protect themselves. The team found that specific combinations of blood proteins from western diamondback rattlesnakes provided unprecedented neutralizing power against the venom of multiple dangerous snake species.
The research, led by Professor of Biology Sean B. Carroll and published July 29, 2026, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, offers a promising way to formulate more potent antivenoms against deadly snakebites—a significant problem in some parts of the world.
"This is one of those great stories when nature has already solved a problem we've been grappling with for decades," said Carroll, who also holds the Andrew and Mary Balo and Nicholas and Susan Simon Endowed Chair at UMD.
A neglected treatment gap
