In Chu Yang Sin National
Park in Vietnam, Zoltan
Takacs, a biomedical
scientist and National
Geographic explorer,
finds a venomous scor-
pion, which glows blue
in ultraviolet light.
Collecting venom from
around the world, Tak-
acs hopes to identify
novel pain medica-
tions because there
are currently few good
alternatives to opioids.
Venom has already led
to one notable suc-
cess. Scientists derived
a drug for chronic pain
from one of the world’s
deadliest animals: the
cone snail.
DAVID GUTTENFELDER
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