Bill Haast, Rest in Peace.

[Alyrium Denryle]

Bill Haast, some of you may know him from the discovery channel, PBS, or various other media venues died on Wednesday at the age of 100. A world renowned venom researcher (despite having little formal education, he was an autodidact) who pioneered the use of snake venom to treat arthritis, polio, cardiovascular problems and numerous other diseases, was bitten over 170 times by various venomous snakes and survived by regularly innoculating himself with low venom doses. This effectively made his own body an antivenin factory, something which has been used on multiple occassions to save the lives of others by using the antibodies in his blood when normal antivenin was not available.

I salute you Bill Haast. A great man, who I am happy to say did not by any stretch of the imagination die young.

(I place this here because it is a scientist who died. If a mod wishes to move it, I will understand, and not protest)

[madd0ct0r]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Haast

that's a hell of a life.