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How can a horse's immune response help a person bitten by a snake?

An antivenom can carry antibodies made by another animal. Horses used in production develop antibodies against selected venoms; manufacturers then collect and purify those antibodies for medicines. That transfer is different from asking the patient's own immune system to learn the threat from scratch.

3–5 min

Questions you could explore

  • Why does the choice of venom used in production matter to the final medicine?

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How does daylight set the body’s clock?

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3–5 min

How does daylight set the body’s clock?

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4–5 min

How does a vaccine give the immune system a memory?

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Health and the body

Why won’t an antibiotic treat a viral cold?

The word infection covers illnesses caused by very different organisms. An antibiotic that helps against certain bacteria has no matching target in the viruses that cause a cold.

2–3 min

Why won’t an antibiotic treat a viral cold?

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