What happens when snake venom meets supercomputers? Quite a lot, actually.

In this special live episode of Talking of Science, recorded in front of an audience at Copenhagen's Rain Dogs as part of the Danish Festival of Research, Helen and Dr C tackle a question we've all asked ourselves at some point: What should you do if you get bitten by a snake?

Joining them is Dr Timothy Jenkins, a protein scientist whose research combines venom biology, artificial intelligence and protein design. Along the way, the conversation slithers its way through venomous snakes, horse blood, scorpions, machine learning, space travel, and the mind-boggling ways scientists are learning to design entirely new proteins from scratch. Tim explains the massive global burden of snake bites (and that it's never really the snakes' fault), what a protein actually is, and how positively archaic the current gold-standard treatment for snake bites is.

The live audience also enjoyed appearances from the famous Danish comedian and podcaster Jasper Ritz, we hear the first ever on-mic appearance of the infamous Nilesh, and perhaps the calmest (but least audio-friendly) guest ever to join the podcast: Nagini, a very well-behaved ball python who spent much of the evening wrapped around the speakers. Big thanks to everyone who joined us on the night, and to the Ministry of Higher Education and Research for the support.

Can't get enough of live podcast recordings combining science, giggles and great atmosphere? Join us for another live recording at Rain Dogs on 19th November! Sign up at talkingofscience.dk/events

To learn more about Tim's research or get in touch, visit Timothy Patrick Jenkins - Welcome to DTU Research Database or email tpaje@dtu.dk

Got a question for the show? We're always curious about the weird, wonderful and unexpected things you've been wondering about lately. Let us know and maybe we'll feature it in a future episode.

Email us at hello@talkingofscience.dk