AN UNEMPLOYED factory worker has proved his immunity to snake venom by letting a deadly mamba bite his bare arm. Through a process of building up his immunity to poison by injecting diluted venom 45-year-old Tim Friede is able to not only survive a snake bite from a black mamba, which normally kills anyone bitten within just 20 minutes, but instead appears totally unaffected. This indifference by Tim is despite the bloody wound to his arm the lethal creature caused when Tim placed the mamba's jaws around his arm and the snake took a bite which injected poison into his arm. Tim hopes that by building up human immunity to snake poison he can contribute to the development of a new anti-venom, more efficient and affordable than the type produced from horses that is currently available. Where no anti-venom is available to people bitten by a black mamba the death rate is usually 100-percent..
With the vivid red smoke billowing into the sky amid the misty sand dunes, these are the blissful views provided at the break of dawn at a volcano .
PERCHING on top of a gate, this young barn swallow waits patiently for his mum to return with dinner .
Peering curiously into a basket hanging off the arms of a snowman, this little squirrel appears fascinated by the snowy figure .
SAILING over crystal clear waters, the Bajau people of Malaysia live their lives almost entirely at SEA .
THEIR gnarling teeth at the ready, these two baboons fight it out for the last piece of fruit .
A rare manuscript of one of Charlotte Bronte’s earliest poems went under the hammer today and fetched nearly £100,000 – double what it was expected to get .
The lighthouses of Brittany, from Brest to Le Conquet, stand tall on France’s north-western coast against stunning scenery .
LIKE A living balloon this baitball of sardines is ready to burst when threatened by a pointy nosed sailfish .
LEAF-ing much to the imagination, this camera trickery is blooming marvellous .
CAUSING a splash, this determined kingfisher goes hunting for dinner .
VENTURING into the ocean with self-made spears and nets, the fishermen of Zanzibar put their lives on the line when they catch food for their families .
