Omaha Performing Arts and Nebraska Science Festival will host a National Geographic Lunch & Learn presentation on April 20 at noon at the Holland Center with biomedical scientist Zoltan Takacs. The setting will allow attendees to ask questions related to "Earth’s Deadliest Lifesavers" and Takacs' career.
The Earth’s deadliest animal venoms are a source of a number of life-saving medicines used to treat everything from heart attacks to diabetes. Yet there are millions of venom toxins in nature that remain unexplored.
A biomedical scientist and inventor, Takacs collects snake, scorpion, jellyfish and other venoms from around the world. Back in the lab, using cutting-edge genomics, he creates combinatorial venom libraries to identify leads for novel medicines.
Driven by his childhood passion, Takacs has traveled to 155 countries and become an aircraft pilot, scuba diver and real-life survivor, roughing it in a hammock deep in the Amazon and in remote Pacific islands. In his mission, he survived charging elephants, pirated waters and a series of snake bites and venom spit in his face. Now he’s allergic to both snake venom and antivenom.
This event is free, though tickets are required. Doors open at 11:30 a.m.; lunch is available for purchase.