Electronics-City to house state’s first serpent institute
By Hamza Irfan Qazi
Electronics City, till now housing premium IT companies, will also now get an advanced snake institute. Bengaluru’s newest attraction -- a state-of-the-art walk-in serpentarium and advanced snake research facility – will come up here by late 2023. The 24,000-sqft facility will be set up at theInstitute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology (IBAB) in Electronics City and will house over 500 snakes across 23 species as well as some scorpions and spiders.
The facility will house a molecular biology wing that will look into the development of better therapies for treating snakebites, saysKarthik Sunagar , assistant professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). It will also host startups that focus on venom research. The project is the brainchild of Sunagar , whose proposal was approved by the government of Karnataka .
Secondly, there is an urgent need for research and development of anti-venoms in India.India suffers from the largest number of deaths and disabilities from snake bites than anywhere else in the world but very few people in the country are looking into the development of anti-venoms. According to research at the IISc, most anti venoms in use in the country right now are ineffective.
Lastly, research into the therapeutic uses of snake venom is presently non-existent in India.
The serpentarium will also facilitate such research that could result in the development of many life-saving drugs. “People who take medications for high blood pressure take a modified snake venom component. It has become a multibillion-dollar industry and has saved millions of lives,” says Sunagar.
Electronics City, till now housing premium IT companies, will also now get an advanced snake institute. Bengaluru’s newest attraction -- a state-of-the-art walk-in serpentarium and advanced snake research facility – will come up here by late 2023. The 24,000-sqft facility will be set up at the
The facility will house a molecular biology wing that will look into the development of better therapies for treating snakebites, says
Sunagar, an evolutionary biologist who has been studying venomous animals around the world for the last 12 years, highlighted three reasons why this facility is important. Firstly, many don’t understand snakes’ characteristics. Most people are afraid of them and will kill them on sight. They do not know how to react to snakes and snake bites, and the site will serve as an educational facility.
Secondly, there is an urgent need for research and development of anti-venoms in India.
Lastly, research into the therapeutic uses of snake venom is presently non-existent in India.
The serpentarium will also facilitate such research that could result in the development of many life-saving drugs. “People who take medications for high blood pressure take a modified snake venom component. It has become a multibillion-dollar industry and has saved millions of lives,” says Sunagar.
