Deriving Life from Venom
By Regina Hoo
May 2018 FEATURE
One scientist’s resolve to uncover a medical mystery led to a possible treatment for stroke, but the cure comes from a most unexpected source.It is called the “hundred pacer” because victims of its bite meet their death by the time they have taken their hundredth step. While the veracity of this local legend is questionable, many survivors are left with amputated or dysfunctional limbs. The culprit? Ancistrodon rhodostoma, otherwise known as the Malayan pit viper.Little did Penang-born pathologist Prof. Dato’...
Regina Hoo
is the deputy editor of Penang Monthly.
