Opossums are terrifying little monsters, but they may actually have some use.
The American opossum produces a protein called Lethal Toxin-Neutralizing Factor (LTNF), and that pretty much describes what it does. The bastards are all-but immune to the venom of poisonous snakes, but it gets better. They're also immune to poisons from snakes on other continents that they have not even been previously exposed to! Still not impressed? Scientists injected mice with the LTNF protein and subjected the rodents to venom from a slew of deadly creatures - Thailand cobras, Australian taipans, Brazilian rattlesnakes, scorpions and honeybees. And they lived!
Just to go for broke, they also exposed the mice to lethal poisons, including ricin and botulinum toxin. Once again, the LTNF protein was able to diffuse the poison, and left the test subjects unharmed. You can read all about it here, and the kicker is that this is all circa 1999. Who knows what mad science has been going on in the last 13 years!
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