MINNEAPOLIS -- Four years ago a YouTube video of a honey badger went viral.
With more than 74 million views, the meme made the fierce animal an internet sensation as it hunted venomous snakes.
Now, research by a University of Minnesota graduate student is providing new insight into why honey badgers survive those bites that would be deadly for many other species.
Danielle Drabeck found that the vicious animal has a positive charge on a receptor that resists snake venom. While the honey badger does pass out after a snake bite, it regains consciousness within minutes.
In addition to honey badgers -- mongooses, hedgehogs, and pigs also have similar DNA tweaks that help them survive venomous bites. Finding and studying these could eventually lead to improvements in antivenoms.
